My twelve

Taking this challenge was supposed to be no sweat. After all, the rules can be summed up in twelve Habs' names, opening night, and your own opinion, so it's not as serious as it would be if it were cemented in stone, right?

Then the telling word. Explain. Oh. Uhhh.

If I were to totally go nuts with this my first line would look like Palushaj-Desharnais-Dumont but I'll spare you having to read any of that because JMart's spared ME the possibility of even imagining it (rude).

So, somewhat rational thinking ahead:

Kostitsyn-Plekanec-Cammalleri
Pleks is the main cog of this line and I just don't see the other two away from him. Kostitsyn, well, we've tried him with other guys and it just doesn't seem to have the same flavour. I do not see him anywhere near Gomez, that's for sure. Relegating him any lower than that is silly and will surely only backfire. Meanwhile, Cammy and Pleks seem to have Siamese-brain complex. One always finds the other no matter where they are on the ice. The result, if they don't overthink it, is usually the back of the net. No issues there.

Pacioretty-Gomez-Gionta

In which I am laughed out of the blogosphere. Probably. Okay. Injuries and whatnot have indeed gotten in the way of Pac's development and I've read a lot of arguments in favour of giving him more time to blossom in Hamilton--I am not fully against this. However, this is still just opening night. It's not for nothing that he's still around, and he should be given a few games to get his bearings and at the very least, enjoy the company of two bona fide veterans like Gomez and Gionta and work hard like we know he can (and has lately) to stay there with them. If it doesn't work out, fine. There is a taxi squad for that. And here again, I see him benefiting from more ice time, not less.

Moen-Eller-Lapierre
Grit is the usual term associated with this line and they have it. While Eller is probably more technical than shutdown, he has enough savvy to be both. The energy that the other two bring should be nicely complemented by his vision and they can support (and defend) him if needed.

Pyatt-Boyd-White
Kid line? Energy line? They don't have a name but come to think of it, they probably don't need one. All three are battlers in their own right, with varying levels of experience but just looking for the right chemistry that they just haven't found yet.

Extras: Halpern, Pouliot
Having followed Pou's camps in Minnesota to some varying degrees of success, nothing ever really stuck out for me, as I am sad to report is the case again this year. He'll have chances to work at it for sure, I'm just not entirely certain he warrants a curtain call right now. And Halpern probably fits in at 4th line, I just saw Boyd fitting in better. As for the Darches and Maxwells of the world, try as I might to rearrange their names up in the 12+ they just didn't stick anywhere I placed them. I need better tape. Or rosters just need to be longer.

A note on the Bulldogs

Second post-mortem post in a row. Second series loss endured by PK Subban and Ben Maxwell in the last three days. I'd pile on the vodka except there's a little too much Motrin in my system at the moment.

The Hamilton Bulldogs had thrown more than double the shots on net than the Texas Stars could muster against them, but fell victim to four unanswered goals and missed the chance to repeat 2007's exploits against Hershey in the Calder Cup Finals, losing Game 7 by a score of 4-2.

For now we'll talk about the 31 franchise records that were made on the way to this loss and the 52-17-3-8 record that few expected with a rookie coach behind the bench, constant callups, injuries, and other threats to team chemistry. Much like its parent in the NHL, this team wasn't supposed to be where it was. By the looks of all the newcomers and the number of potential and eventual graduates, it was en route to maybe pushing the 40-win mark, and even that would have been deemed respectable. But they went above and beyond, bringing new faces and even newer prospects to the Conference Finals of the AHL, and each of these made their own mark on the franchise (which quite frankly is really all Guy Boucher asks for from his players). Two goaltenders with both the talent and the experience saved and stole games for the Bulldogs, the defense corps shattered offensive records while providing a mainstay on the blueline, while the "never make it"s and the "too short"s collaborated to burn out those red lights behind opposing goaltenders much like you'd see in that Vapor commercial.

I'll admit I had a selfish want in following this team's playoff run: getting the opportunity to follow two successive Guy Boucher league titles. But the Blue Jackets (among others) are already drooling and it's not because he didn't make it to the final dance. It's for all that stuff that happened way before that opportunity could have even been thought of. Much can be the same for every member of the Hamilton Bulldogs: each of them gets to come out of this a little bit older, a little bit wiser, and a lot more confident and hungry for the next time. Pretty attractive stuff.

I don't believe it either

This is like that scene from Edward Scissorhands.



Okay, maybe no one's dancing about the snow... but still. This is so like that scene from Edward Scissorhands.
A few months ago, before winter really started, I wrote about how the first snowfall of the season seems to take place after the Canadiens do something incredible.
Then I woke up this morning to snow... not just a little flake or two. It's really snowing outside.

See the little patches of white on the lawn, and the thin layer of snow on the railing? It's April 27th. Wtf.

I'm hoping this means something special will happen.

QMJHL playoffs underway: in which czechtacular attempts (and probably fails) to withhold bragging about her own team(s).

I would definitely have bored you with this subject earlier, but the playoffs is the time of year that piques the most interest among followers so I've tried to give myself more hope. Plus, I like to think my game previews are rather efficient in giving you the whole What You Need to Know with side bonus details sprinkled in over top. I will attempt, but by no means promise, to be equally brief here.

The format used in the Q is new to even me, but each division forms seeds and plays within itself before merging onto a single scene and playing much like the conferences in the NHL do. In other words:

West Telus: Rouyn (1) vs. Val D'Or (4) (hey, that'll be pretty simple in terms of voyage!) and Montreal (2) vs. Gatineau (3)
Telus Centre: Drummondville (1) vs. Lewiston (4) (don't ask me, I didn't decide Maine could be considered 'centre'.) and Victoriaville (2) vs. Shawinigan (3)
East Telus: Quebec (1) vs. Bathurst (5) (this one's a weird one. Bathurst got more points than Baie-Comeau, who is actually in the East Telus division whereas Bathurst is in the Atlantic. But the Atlantic has six teams whereas every other division only has four, and the two worst teams in the whole league are cut from the playoffs. Still with me? I hope so.) and Rimouski (2) vs. Chicoutimi (3)
Atlantic Division: Saint John (1) vs. PEI (4) and Moncton (2) vs. Cape Breton (3).

And thennnnnnnnnnn (in my best Chinese takeout from Dude Where's my Car? accent) whoever emerges from the first round as the top seed overall plays the last seed overall and so on. The lowest-ranking "favourite" is Montreal and the highest is Saint John. Thus, barring upsets, those two would face each other in the second round (and I would be forced to bring my notes and books to the Verdun Auditorium in studying for finals because there's no way I'd miss that).

So who should we be looking out for?


The aformentioned Sea Dogs took over the league this year with their 22 game winstreak earlier in the year enabling them to sit atop that first seed throne. They form a stable hybrid of youth and veterans, and boast two champions from Drummondville's squad last year in sniper Mike Hoffman, drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the fifth round last draft as a 19 year old, and goaltender Marco Cousineau, playoff MVP of 2008-09 and Anaheim Ducks prospect. Workhorse defensemen Yann Sauvé and Simon Després provide an influx of offense in addition to their future-NHLer poise/defensive mad skillz (I know, I sounded almost credible until that point) and European forwards Stanislav Galiev and Tomas Jurco each finished with strong numbers in their rookie campaigns.

The Moncton Wildcats made a flurry of moves to bolster their roster and inform the rest of the league they're serious in their bid to re-live the days of the Keith Yandles and the Martins Karsumses and even the Josh Tordjmans. (Excuse my nostalgia, but it's the first President's Cup run I followed in its entirety.) Goaltender Nicola Riopel, despite only having played about a third of the season, has come up with some solid wins between the pipes for the Wildcats, and Nicolas Deschamps, acquired from Chicoutimi, finished tied for first in the league in points (there is some debate he can snatch away the "tied" part and claim the Jean Beliveau trophy from Sean Couturier but I'll bite my tongue about that for now).

The Victoriaville Tigres are the darkhorse of this top-4 it seems, but have also had a very strong campaign under bench boss Yanick Jean. They threatened Drummondville for tops in the West Telus Division for a time and also made several statements with their acquisitions over the Christmas break. They will look to surprise everybody with their efficiency in both kinds of special teams and capacity to upset the big guns on every squad.

(I've waited as long as I possibly could before claiming bragging rights, so keep that in mind.) From worst to first to second isn't too shabby for a Voltigeurs' squad that last year had Yannick Riendeau, Dany Massé, and the aformentioned Mike Hoffman doing all their scoring. 17-year old Sean Couturier (might) have the scoring title in just his second campaign. The Phoenix/Bathurst native is on his way to turning lots more heads en route to what looks like a top-3 position in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Chris DiDomenico is back from the broken leg he suffered during the last playoffs and has fared very nicely since his return. Habs' prospect Gabriel Dumont has the goal-scoring title in the Q with 51, and teammate/future teammate Philippe Lefebrve didn't fare too badly himself with 26 goals and 29 assists. Meanwhile, in nets, once crucified by Canadian hockey fans for bringing back silver (oh, the horror), Jake Allen now boasts the lowest goals-against average in the QMJHL and the CHL at 2.20 and has convinced his teammates and surely the rest of the league that he will be the go-to guy in the bid to bring Drummondville another title. I have a myriad of other Jake-isms for you, including his almost-record shutout streak of 188 minutes and 47 seconds, but I suspect you get the idea.

*photo cred: lhjmq.qc.ca, my Sea Dogs Newsletter that joyfully brightens up my inbox each Friday, and Journal L'Express Drummondville.

Washington @ Montreal 2-10-10

This is a shirt I wanted, but will have to hold off on buying, at least for tonight. The good thing is that it can apply to more than one Tomas, and that I can deal with.
Since I had a pre-game responsibility of another nature all day and missed out on the game preview, I come to you now with a live blog. Quick bullet points before puck-drop:

• Carey Price finally gets some ice time in goal, facing Michal Neuvirth, who has 4 wins in his last 4 starts. Washington's got a ridiculous win-streak going if you haven't heard about it by now (14). Also the same number of points separating them from the 2nd place Devils last I checked.


• Alexander Semin has five game-winning goals, and he and his buddy Tomas Fleischmann (see shirt design) were a lethal double-team last time they faced the Habs, which I missed, which is good, as both of them happen to be part of my extracurricular Enjoyable Hockey Players and I'm not allowed to enjoy them in such a context.


• Mike Green is back after nearly decapitating Kladno native Michael Frolik, so you can bet I'll be one of the ones looking on pretty skeptically.

First period notes:

• Holy quick start, Batman. Gomez allows Tom Pyatt to get his first NHL point. Penalty upcoming, though.
• This game is happening faster than I can type it. 1-1, Brooks Laich with the goal from the infamous two extracurriculars.
• I've lost track of which Hamiltonians are here and which aren't.
• First time I actually see the "C" on Ovechkin. I feel like there should have been more fanfare around that.
• Maxwell to the box for hooking. The only thing fun about that is his caption which says "Benjamin."
• I just realized the ridiculous amount of hockey I have to follow tonight.
• Gionta and Pleks shorthanded 2 on 1 ruined by my favourite Kladno-killer.
• Hope Tom Pyatt can provide some energy in this game (not that it's currently lacking.)
• RT (yes, in a blog) @All_Habs: Bell Centre seats seem to filled, but sounds like game is in Atlanta.
• Semin in the box. Capitalizing on the Capitals? ...We'll never know. Gionta goes off with a penalty of his own.
• ....Josh? Yikes.
• The place seems to have gone completely dead. Kudos goes to the Capitals for their response to that injury. End 1st.

(Intermission: all I seemed to notice was the "Krispy Kernels" ad behind Jacques Demers' head.)

Second period notes:

• PYATTTTTTTTTT!! First point and now first goal in the NHL. Assists to O'Byrne and Gomez.
• ...And Washington's use of the classic tic-tac-toe ensures their ridiculously-quick response to THAT.
• Desharnais' turn. Soon, please? Or I'll need more wine.
• Maybe Pleks' line could stop being offside sometime soon?
• Since when is Ovie anti-McGill?
• Goalie change, just as my mother (the one who keeps reminding us Jose Theodore exists) comes downstairs. Coincidence? I think not. Also nice timing for the fans to wake up in this game.
• Habs to the powerplay! It's about time. Don't ruin it now.
• First half looks like a powerfail. Second half has some nice passes but no finish.
• "OMG. omg. OMG! omg. (pause) whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!" - the most coherent translatable reaction to the Pyatt line's barrage, all stopped by Theodore.
• Brendan Morrison to the box on that play. Hopefully less of a powerfail will result...
• Pleks hits the side of the net, aaaaaaaaaand DESHARNAIS' 1ST NHL POINT. Unless Toronto decides otherwise.
• Not so. Glen Metropolit does indeed record his 12th goal of the year. How long before the Caps respond to this one?
• Sergei Kostitsyn and Maxim Lapierre team up and give the Caps more of a challenge. 4-2 Habs. Good on them!
• HALA--err. The Price is Right!
• Kinda wish the Habs would save their best for every team, not just the throne-holders of the league.
• Well. That goal was a ball-buster. Everybody into the net?....Waved off. Wow.
• Ryan O'Byrne was rude and will have a two-minute time-out.
• Pleks looked like he wanted to have a little rest on Ovie's shoulder listening to that explanation.
• PING.
• Update on Gorges via Twitter (might also have been from the TV but my parents have been conversing loudly as part of their own liveblog): RT @All_Habs: Gorges with scalp laceration, lost fair amount of blood but will be ok.
• PLEKS! Sweet pass from Sergei and ladies and gentlemen, we have chicken wings! End 2nd.

Third period notes:

• 13 seconds. And 3 seconds after that, it's 5-3 on Mike Green (him again)'s 14th of the year. Numerical irony there if you can spot it.
• "There goes Pyatt's GWG," - Rookie. Good point, sadly made :(
• PING.
• Sergei K has been silently kickass this game. Right there, he was loudly kickass.
• "Potty?" - my brother on Washington's #3. I haven't been paying attention to see if RDS still calls him that.
• "MAKE SOME NOISE!" Yeah. Maybe something other than chanting poor Theo's name. (I was a fan, okay)
• ...damnit. On second thought, maybe you can resume that taunting.
• Uh oh. 5-4. And now RDS is all over O'Byrne.
• Boyd Gordon sounds like a cheesy superhero name from one of those shows you'd find on Teletoon Retro.
• Ovechkin. Go away.
• Youppi sitting where he does in the third period irritates me. If you know me well this isn't the first time you've read this. (To quote Christian Bale, the words "it's fucking distracting!" come to mind)
• Another powerplay (or powerfail?) ... answered by one Hal Gill.
• I reinterate the point I made three bullet points ago.
• My mom just said a bad word. In French.
• Fleischmann, how dare you even try.
• My dad just said a bad word. In French. (But seriously, was that really a non-call? Poor Gionta.)
• .......
• From a score that was 5-2, RDS shouldn't be tipping their hat to the Habs getting a point. They also gave one away.

Overtime (...) notes:

• My dad's "affection" for Ovechkin can be resumed in the word "hotdog."
• Someone be my hero. Someone whose jersey isn't dominantly white. Please.
• The Halakisms are on their way back in the fans' vocabulary already. Where's the justice in that? I don't see any.
• !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY HERO WAS MY HEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. (My poor dog has run for the hills.)
• I can't formulate any other comment, other than my joy at my post picture being ironically relevant. So I leave it up to you. Habs win! 6-5 in OT!

Anyone else notice this?

In the midst of all of tonight's hockey excitement (Habs come back against Bruins! Caps and Rangers score a million goals! Kovalchuk traded to the Devils!) I can't help but think about some of yesterday's news.

The Columbus Blue Jackets decided to part ways with coach Ken Hitchcock. It all sounds just a little bit familiar.

Per an NHL.com article:

Hitchcock led the Blue Jackets to the first playoff berth in franchise history last spring...

A team whose entry into the playoffs both surprised and excited their fanbase, the likes of which hadn't been seen in a very long time (or in this case, ever)?

The defense, usually a trademark of Hitchcock-coaches teams, has struggled -- and 2008-09 Calder Trophy winner Steve Mason hasn't matched last season's performance in goal.

A sophomore goaltender who wasn't putting up the same numbers he had as a rookie, numbers which catapulted him into the spotlight and caused his elder, former #1 goalie to be traded away?

"It's terrible news," Nash, the Jackets' captain, told the Columbus Dispatch. "It's terrible news. It's terrible we couldn't play better and the coach had to be fired..."

No other solution but to fire the coach of a team whose season has been, to say the least, disappointing?

Maybe it's just me, but this sounds an awful lot like last season's Canadiens. We'll have to see how - and when - Columbus turns around. Will the team need to clean house? Or has our example proved that a new roster might not always make the huge difference you hope it will?

In any case, I know one thing: Columbus can't have Brian Gionta. Sorry.

This drama's for yo mama.

Surprise surprise, another story about a locker room split!

Montreal Forum host Tony Marinaro reports that there was an altercation in the locker-room following the 4-3 overtime loss to St. Louis last Wednesday. The reported altercation took place between defensemen Andrei Markov and goalie Carey Price. Marinaro reports Markov approached Price and said “If you are not going to play with heart, stay home. We don’t need you here.” Several players came to the defense of Price, while others sided with Markov.

For those keeping tabs, the latest practice altercation featuring Cammalleri and Lapierre came the morning after this alleged event.

Seriously,

Come on now.

For the rest of us who would much rather prefer to focus on the on-ice product (which yesterday only allowed Randy Tieman to put together 47 seconds of decent highlight footage, so there you have it, no need for my own commentary), here are some sure-fire ways to avoid feelings of rage while watching a Habs game:

- Baking. Yes, baking. It gives you something to do, the intermissions are less dull, positive aromas make for a positive mood, and if by some miracle the lead actually manages to be held you can feast happily later on. If you feel you'll burn the house down, however, maybe making popcorn will suffice. Props if you do that the old-fashioned way that doesn't take two to three minutes, and don't manage to involve the fire department.

- Muting the TV and putting the radio on to classical music as you watch. I tried this with a friend during the last Stanley Cup Finals and it was surprisingly effective.

- Or, if you're not into classical music, muting the TV and making your own play by play. Inspiration for this goes to the fellow at Peel Pub this Saturday who took advantage of the RDS sound blackout to make his own personal debut. It may have consisted of "and now he passes to the other guy, now back to the other guy, to his friend here the other guy!" but it was still highly entertaining, especially when the Habs scored immediately afterwards.

- Last but not least, if the game is on TSN, there's always the Pierre McGuire Drinking Game:
Hint: It doesn't necessarily limit itself to use during the World Juniors.
(thanks to thecheckingline.com.)


Now Habs. Let's bust that Lightning win streak. No preview post, because y'all should be looking for recipes right about now.

In case you couldn't guess...

Since I'm currently occupied with the Habs (and the football and the beginning of awards season), Plus/Minus will wait until tomorrow.
I know people all over the earth are disappointed by this, but that's not as important as the New York Rangers currently crying about the Habs' 2-0 lead.

ETA: Shit. I spoke too soon.

HIHW gets some answers

There have been a few questions plaguing us lately, mostly involving the meaning of life, the popularity of Lady Gaga and what on earth we have to do to permanently repair whatever's wrong with Georges Laraque. We don't have the answers to any of those questions, but don't worry, if we ever figure something out, you'll be the first to know.
I did recently get my Veronica Mars on, to answer another one of life's burning queries: What's the deal with "Roster players currently unavailable?"

Technical difficulties prevent me from photoshopping Miss Mars into a tricolore jersey

You know the message if you've tried to make yourself something at the recently launched NHL Custom Shop. You pick out a shirt, a colour, a size, a logo for the front, and you get all excited about the idea of a custom T-shirt that only you (and people your size have). You type in a "Moen 32" or a "Kesler 17" or what have you, only to be told that yes, indeed, Roster players are currently unavailable.
So much for customization.

I decided to get to the bottom of this, and here's the very prompt answer I got, courtesy of the NHL shop's customer service department:

"There are certain rule and regulations that www.SHOP.NHL.com must follow according the National Hockey League. Some players have signed contracts that allow their names to be put on jerseys, and some have not. We do not have a way of knowing which ones have and have not, accept for the drop down menu that allows you to pick the players names. We apologize for any inconvenience."


(I copied it word-for-word... that's not my grammar.)
So there you have it. It's the lawyers' fault again. What, they couldn't take an extra three minutes to write an extra clause into their client's contract?
I also have yet to find this drop-down menu, unless they mean the one in the "Player Apparel" section of the store.


The good news in all this? Current roster players seem to be the only thing currently unavailable. So you're in luck if you happen to like anyone who doesn't currently lace up for the Canadiens. (hint, hint.)


Hope this helps... it's the least I can do. The Habs are expected to make their yearly visit to children's hospitals at some point soon, and I was going to get you some first-person accounts from staff members, but that's looking about as possible as me getting a puck past Ryan Miller. (I'm still angry, Ryan Miller. Don't think you got off easy just because I didn't talk about the last Buffalo game.)

Olympics and Team Canada...

... before Team Canada is named for this year's Olympics (which happens tomorrow at noon and I'm very, very excited).

A few countries have already named their men's hockey rosters for the Vancouver Olympics, and for the most part it's the usual suspects. Well, I don't know very much about Latvia, so I'll just make assumptions like all real sports reporters tend to do.

Team Latvia boasts only two NHLers (the third Latvian in the NHL is probably fuming, not unlike Swede Mikael Samuelsson, who is an eleventh-hour candidate for quote of the year) and a bunch of really talented guys who play in Europe.

Team Sweden, as I mentioned, has no Mikael Samuelsson (I knew who that was before he fired off that quote) but it does have Nicklas Lidstrom (so far the best captain at the Olympics, but let's wait until tomorrow to confirm that), scoring machines the Sedin twins, and the excellent Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes (who I will sometimes say nice things about as long as he's not playing for the New York Rangers or against Canada). Oh, and some guy whose name doesn't sound Swedish at all.

Team Belarus recruited the Kostitsyn brothers, who have been on fire lately, as well as this other guy who plays for the Leafs and has no face.

Team Russia is um... you know what, I'm going to say it. Awesome. Team Russia, so far, is the team to beat. They have a wicked lineup (my apologies to Kovy for getting snubbed) which boasts the NHL's best players, including two guys who will potentially become NHL captains sometime soon, Andrei Markov and Alexander Ovechkin. Oh yeah, they're also two of my favourite players in the whole league and if Canada loses to Russia in the gold-medal game, I'll probably survive.

Team Slovakia, as expected, named our Jaroslav Halak as goaltender today. Halak is also the NHL's first star of last week and should not have been pulled at the end of last night's game against the Sens, but it seems like I'm the only person who tenses up when a goalie is taken off the ice. Another Slovak goalie? Rastislav Stana, who has a wicked cool name. The team also boasts former Hab Richard Zednik and the devil himself, Zdeno Chara Miroslav Satan.

We won't find out who's on Team Canada for another twenty hours (keep sending good thoughts to Steve Yzerman so that he'll pick Mike Cammalleri, and I'm using this as an excuse to post the "Hope" poster again), but to tide you over, there's a great game at the CTV Olympics site... find out who your "twin" is on the Canadian sledge, men's, and women's hockey teams.

And now on to the successors of the best sports team of 2009: Canada's juniors won their first two games, and they play again tonight (against Slovakia), saving us from a relatively bleak post-Christmas primetime schedule. Or, you know, you can wait the whole evening for a Zach Braff-less episode of Scrubs.

If I were you, I'd tape Scrubs. (Sorry, rest of the cast.)

In case the sign wasn't enough

After the final buzzer tonight--or the final verdict, that is (and thanks, MAB, guess I'm really going to have to be nice to you now),

this guy

has only one less point than

this guy.

Taking notes, Bob?

Actual game buzz now: there is absolutely no way that our team can generate 23 shots on net compared to FIFTY and win every night. I'd call it a pure stroke of luck but I'd be insulting the man between the pipes with a number 41 on his back. If this were Thanksgiving I'd put Jaroslav Halak on my thank-list ahead of my own brother. (And contrary to typical sibling rivalries, that is actually a big deal.)

...still no chicken wings or autographed T.O. jersey

Ryan Miller, this was not part of the deal. All I wanted was some buffalo wings and a win. Maybe if you were feeling extra generous you could bring Terrell Owens to MTL, since the blogosphere already knows I'm a fan. But, like a kid on Santa's naughty list, I didn't get what I wanted. One day, Ryan Miller, we will solve you. Mark my words.


...Wow, it must sound like I really hate Miller, which I don't (mostly because I don't know enough about him to actively like or hate him). He's just my go-to Sabres guy for the moment so I direct all my frustrations at him.

Plus Minus: Habnormally Positive?

Before I delve into the week that was, a moment of silence for Rookie's favourite J.T. (I'll give you a hint, he doesn't sing) having gone back down to Hamilton earlier today.

PLUS
+ A big, BIG plus for Markov's news.
+ Coming away with 3 of 6 points against strong adversaries this week.
+3 ... for not backing down in any of those games, despite giving up the lead in all of them.
+ Not letting Rick Nash eat us.
+ Carey Price coming up huge off his Second Star of the Week performance.
+ Maxim Lapierre's quote on the heated practice-time exchange between Gorges and Cammalleri. Too much love, indeed.
+ What looks like a resurgence by Max Pacioretty into last season's form.
+ Injured dudes making their way back into the lineup, slowly but surely. Spacek was one, now it looks like Gomez might return.
+ Paul Mara the Alouettes fan.


MINUS
- Having to say hello and goodbye to the callups. Come back soon, little ones.
- Poor Jaro, forgotten about again. Some might call this a good minus because there's no "controversy" this way, but notice how much is said in the reverse situation compared to how it is now?
- Tomas Plekanec in the faceoff dot. He only won 3 of 19 against Pittsburgh, and you saw how the 3rd period ended last night.
- Dave Jackson out for the season. There aren't many zebra-men I don't feel much wrath for on a regular basis.
- Matt D'Agostini still on the sidelines after a couple of maybes and almosts.

Apparently my caffeine intake has gotten the better of me because I'm never usually this thrilled after a week we lost two games out of three.

Oh, and I almost forgot:

WE DON'T KNOW YET
The obvious biggest news of the week (that I didn't really forget but was just testing to see if you had): Latendresse's departure to Minnesota in return for Pouliot. I still say it's an even trade, having followed both guys since WJC '06. Gui, for his part, has scored a goal, and we wish him all the best in scoring more (just not enough to put Minnesota ahead of Calgary in the Northwest, mind you), and also that Pouliot's wrist gets better in time for him to show us why he was picked 4th in the '05 Draft.

Face the music, Frankie B: Game Preview 11-14-09

Who will save MaxPac from the evil Predators?

This may or may not become a regular instalment, depending on that lurking evil otherwise known as finals. In the meantime: that Phoenix game was pretty bouncy to say the least. Good bounces, bad bounces, Czechs bouncing, three assists! I woke up to about eleven thousand tweets praising dear Tomas, which is a wonderful start to any day especially after The Year That Was (and could this potentially lead to The Year(s) That Will Be, Bob? ...Or perhaps I could stop pushing self-interests in this blog and maybe get back on track).

Montreal and Nashville's records are eerily almost the same, except Nasvhille is exactly at .500 and the Habs are missing a W in order to get there. Ways they could do that tonight: get on the puck first, not depend on special teams and most importantly, don't play the Cardiac Kids card and depend on OT. That may be a habit they've used more than regularly this season, but it's also one that will turn around to bite them if they use it too often.

Elvis impersonators (Nashvillians to watch out for)

Pekka Rinne. The youngster doesn't get a lot of fame, being where he is (ie. not in the East), but there's a reason he was here in Montreal with the rest of the All-Stars last year. I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled a Pavelec tonight.

J-P Dumont. Because he leads his team on the scoresheet, sure, but the ex-Foreur also accounts for 23 points in 30 career games played against the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge.

Steve Sullivan. Probably the only guy who wore Leafs colours that I ever secretly liked back in the day without previous team history to validate myself with, his speed and smarts and determination (he won the comeback player of the year award last season) make him dangerous. He may not be all over the scoresheet this season, but that doesn't mean he's unable to turn things around when needed.

Shea Weber. It's not for nothing that Stevie Y has his eye on this young defenseman. He does what's required of him on both sides of the ice; his offensive side in particular is good for third on the team in points.

Francis Bouillon. Because last game I only mentioned Robert Lang as a sidenote, and he scored on us. So Frankie needs his own bullet point and here it is.

Kladno vs. Kladno, Round II

I'm not entirely sure if the issues with the carpet used to award Carey Price with October's Molson Cup before the game is what caused the entire ice surface to become World's Biggest Pinball Machine for 60 minutes, but it was the setting for a 5-4 loss to Ondrej Pavelec (him again!) and the Thrashers last night.

Being down the way they were at the end of the first period, I was almost ready to re-live the dreadful Pittsburgh game. But the offense came out to play. Cammalleri missed an opportunity and grabbed it back. Gionta broke free of whatever kryptonite has been holding him back for the last 6 or so games. And Plekanec scored a beauty against his fellow Kladno native.

...any excuse to post this, I'll admit

But as much as these guys were present, the defense was not. Jaro Spacek sometimes makes nifty plays to keep the puck in at the blueline, but more often than not he keeps letting it slip away. Mathieu Carle, personal bias aside (ex-Rouyn Noranda piece of the puzzle that squashed Drummondville's 25th season playoff hopes, among other crimes, but despite this has still pretty much been overrated his entire career, in my honest and humble opinion) did not have a stellar NHL debut. And I still don't understand why Bergeron is a Hab. Presence on the power play? Sure, we need one. But with all the delay of game penalties (Hamr, I'm looking at you) and other silly infractions, that becomes void. And anyway, if we're using that logic we may as well buy back Pierre Dagenais for the shootout. Would you?


The ~czechtacular household balancing act between Dancing With the Stars and the game prevents me from making further comments about how the game ended. But while I openly tend to lean in favour of Halak, it really is ridiculous how differently the team plays in front of him versus how they play in front of Price. Poor guy, honestly. Mike Boone suggests that maybe Pavelec should try playing behind Carle and Bergeron. Good point, well made. Not that the Atlanta Thrashers' defensemen are world-renowned themselves, but at least they defend their goaltender like NHLers should.

Little girl, no more.

So I had started thinking that this game post was going to resemble a protest against what is likely to result in a hemorrage of printed nonsense about "goaltending controversies" and how we may now have one on our hands because apparently, it is probably the worst thing ever to actually be in possession of two solid goaltenders, but there is a much more important issue to address.

Tomas Plekanec.

Well, lookit you, Mr. Badass.

Before going further I must underline and applaud the play of Travis Moen tonight. First star honours were very well deserved in this Méchant Lundi special event (otherwise known as "what, we play tonight? Really?") as well as Hammer for continuing his reign on the offensive masters of the Habs' blueline (outscoring Sheldon Souray by 3 goals. Concussion or not, betcha didn't think THAT was ever going to happen). I've also been a little rough on Jaroslav Spacek lately, and that goal made me eat my words.

So, Pleks. This may well be my area of expertise, granted, he has been my favourite player for awhile (and in my sights since his first-ever training camp in 2001). There have been ups. There have been downs. There have been turtleneck jokes and little girl references (and of course, the accompanying creative uses of Photoshop). There is, currently, a one-year contract, $2.75M.

So far, the man we "overpaid" this summer is looking like the bargain he has been since 2001.

This and he hasn't kept the same wingers for more than two games all season. The silent but wily craftsman is back to being one of the highest on the Habs' leaderboard. Eight of his points are assists, but none of those were cheaply made. Roll back footage of Cammy's second goal on Saturday. He is back and he is strong, he is making use of whatever chances he gets despite the instability on either side of him. He has the odd average game, but the Plekanec definition of "average" still means busting his butt every shift. It's been said before, but doesn't always reach into the thick skulls of some Habs' fans (who tend to favour former wearers of jersey #27, coincidence?) who are off in Trade Rumour La-La Land, pointing at his "rising value" and "the need to capitalize on it" as soon as possible rather than acknowledging and even celebrating the fact that this team we couldn't recognize October 1st actually has a familiar face pulling a lot of its strings. He's even added to the formula a little--this season he's slowly adding the extra spice to his game by attempting the human bulldozer on pretty much every opponent, 5'9'' or 6'7''. Doesn't always win, sometimes ends up flat on his butt, but oh, those fearful little Euro forwards, afraid to get in the corners...not so much.

And tonight. End-to-end setup for Hammer's goal. Those playmaking abilities at their very best, that keen vision of the ice, the confidence he so dearly missed last season, it was all there. One thing hasn't changed with his mindset, though. He passed the puck. I'll always remember being present at the Penguins-Canadiens' game a few years ago, again in overtime, where he could have recorded his first NHL hat trick but saw another #44, Souray, in what he felt was a much better position so he passed the puck to him. Souray scored, the entire Bell Centre and beyond went into a fit of deliriousness, ole'ing deep into the metro (I had to hum along, I had no voice left). Pleks? He stuck by his decision like he probably will again tonight. And then there'll be the next game.

But will there be next year? That's not up to me. But you know what would happen if it was.

Snowy, with a chance of victory

So, about last night...

AWESOME.

And I'll tell you why.

Because we had a strong, motivated team backed by a solid goaltender?

Because we outshot the other team?

Because Scott Gomez had a fire lit under him?

Because our power play is improving?

Because we played against a team that doesn't always have their business together?

No.

Well, yes, okay, yeah, all of those things are true, but no.

You see, I have a lot of crazy theories about why things happen. (It's probably why ~czechtacular spends her days laughing at me. Even though we don't see each other every day.) And you are about to learn one of them:

I don't necessarily believe in the weather as an all-encompassing force that controls all things...

Okay, but I don't want to piss off Storm, she's pretty badass

...but you may have noticed that the Habs' win against the Islanders was a) the first win in regulation time and b) insane. It also happened on the same day as the first snowfall. I know that last week or the week before a few flakes fell, but yesterday there were actual flurries. I don't know about you, but I looked out the window yesterday afternoon, saw all those beautiful white, fluffy flakes gently making their way to the sidewalk, and said "oh shit." That's when you know it's snowing. (The rain cleared up that snow, though. Yay.)

Anyway, crazy things tend to happen on the day of the first snowfall. Case in point: Thursday's game.

I was pretty happy after Tuesday's shootout win, a victory best described as, well, Giontastic*. I knew that things could get better, though, and they did. Our Canadiens didn't just win against the Islanders, they actually played to win and kicked some ass. I had almost forgot what it was like to see such epic ass-kicking.

And I'd go so far as to say that this is some weird natural phenomenon that only happens once a season. Things go crazy when the snow first falls. You don't know what it's going to be, you don't always know when it'll happen, but something unexpected is going to happen.

Look at last season: After about a season and a half of nothing, and a few weeks of really trying for it (including a sacrificed stick), Josh Gorges scores his first goal as a Canadien. (And it was a really nice one!). Also that night, Ryan O'Byrne did the unspeakable, but let's not speak of that. And if you looked outside your window or went outdoors after that game, do you remember what you saw? A thin layer of pristine, sparkling white snow on the ground. Now, it hasn't been proven if that game (also against the Islanders, is that part of the pattern?) was crazy because of the snow, or if Storm decided to celebrate the first Josh goal, but there's something there.

Two seasons, two snowfalls, and two memorable games. I'm just sayin'.

* Rookie's note: You can use the word "Giontastic," but don't act like you invented it.

+/-, week two: good guys finish last?

Hmm, okay so maybe we Canadiens fans didn't have the most spectacular week, but you take the good with the bad, right?

PLUS

+ No insane injuries this week. Wow, that's actually a plus? Is this really the kind of week it's been?

+ Gomez & Gionta taking over for what used to be called the Kovy's Kids loge. Jose Theodore and Alex Kovalev were total gentlemen for giving kids a chance to have a fun Bell Centre night when life wasn't so great for them, and I think it's a great move by two new guys to show that they're committed to not only the team, but the city. If I were a little kid given the opportunity to see a game at the loge, I'd be excited not only about the experience but that I was being given that chance by Brian Gionta.

+ For the second week in a row, Tomas Plekanec. Maybe this isn't the best streak he's had, but if some people's opinions were right and Pleks was our most problematic player, then, um, we wouldn't be on a losing streak. And also for this from the Canadiens homepage earlier this week, which is awesome in many ways:

+ The kids who opened up the Bell Centre ice before our home opener. I already mentioned the little goalie who tripped but tried not to show any potential embarrassment. (I'd have been mortified until I saw players falling on the ice during that same game.)

+ The Gazette for running an article on Chris Chelios' drive to play some games in the NHL this season. After reacquiring Mathieu Schneider for the end of last season, I figured we might as well leave the doors open to whatever veterans want to come back, and I think it's awesome that Chelios still has some fight left in him. (And to be honest, I wouldn't mind a little extra push on the blue line.)

+ I know which stamps are going on my Christmas cards this year! It's a shame I don't really know anyone in Toronto or Boston.

+ This Twitter update from Dave Stubbs, which is a tad meaner than he usually is but as brilliant as he always is: "#Habs team photo tomorrow. Smiles to be inserted with Photoshop?"

+ For the ticket sales on the 15th of every month, allowing us a do-over from a hideously unsuccessful ticket sales day in September. 

MINUS

- Special teams. Dear Scott Gomez: Since when is "power play" synonymous with "pass the puck to Spacek instead of shooting it"?

- I know this is usually what fans say when their teams lose, but biased reffing. We endured some pretty useless penalties and were deprived of at least a couple of well-deserved power plays.

- People whose loyalty to a player outshines their loyalty to their own team. Since WHEN do you cheer like that when your own team loses? Which, don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see Kovy again and I'm glad that he still loves the city, so much so that he's a good sport even when asked to model a suit best described as Beetlejuice Chic...

- The team generally fading as the game progresses... two consecutive third periods that left me a little disappointed, to say the least.

- 2 Oh yeah, and more losses in games that I believe the team could feasibly have won. I almost made another minus for "no Tuesday game" until I realized that it probably wouldn't have gone down so well.

And, in not yet plus or minus news, we'd like to welcome Marc-Andre Bergeron to the city, as he's presumably ready after some victories in Hamilton, and I guess Shawn Belle can't be our guest anymore for a while.

Plus/Minus for the first week of the season

Welcome to the inaugural (and hopefully not last) +/- post, where, like a player's plus-minus ranking, we're going to keep track of what happens, spotlight the good, and sulk at the bad. Since this first week (technically, nine days, but that's procrastination) was as insane as we've come to expect during the hockey season (especially for Montreal), we've got a lot to get this going:

+ Winning the first game of the season. Take that, Toronto! Not even the big bad defenceman that we molded (who then jilted us) can hold us down.

+ Josh Gorges starting his season with a game-winning goal.

+ Beating the Sabres.

+ Brian Gionta saving our asses on a regular basis.

+ Andrei Kostitsyn and Tomas Plekanec de-zombifying from their former selves and producing goals in both road losses, one of which was a wicked backhander that had an eye for the net

+ The return of Kyle Chipchura and the unleashing of his badassery on Eric Nystrom (the newly-born Habs' killer). While we know he's no Laraque (and...thank goodness for that, actually), we need to see Chip bringing that physical edge to his game and hopefully he'll find other ways to keep his spot, for good this time.

+ Travis Moen unleashing his angry self. We've seen his bad side, and it's scary stuff

+ New additions to Centennial Plaza. The central monument has a clean, classy design. It's also nice to see de la Gauchetiere renamed. It wasn't necessary, but it's a nice way to recognize the epicenter of hockey in the city. I mean, the Hippodrome is on rue des Jockeys, the Labatt brewery is on Labatt street, and there are streets named after recording artists, so why shouldn't a legendary hockey franchise get the same treatment? And who wouldn't want a miniature Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montreal street sign as part of their hockey-themed home accessories? (I'd take it over a wooden sign anyday.)

+ The Hamilton Bulldogs starting off their season with a 3-0 win against the Ice Hogs, which is just an unfortunate name for anything.

-3 for injuries to Andrei Markov, Ryan O'Byrne, and Glen Metropolit happening way too early in the season. And for happening at all. If we subtracted a point for all of their jersey numbers, it'd be -97. And I have half a mind to do it because my favourite Canadien is out for four months, but I'll try to hold back.

-2 for two losses on the road, especially getting flattened in Vancouver (but I think it's a general consensus that no one wanted that game to end that way... except for maybe the Canucks.)

- This letter to Stu Cowan, Gazette sports editor, that was actually published in the newspaper. The letter-writer may simply have intended to express appreciation for the numerous Quebecois hockey heroes of yesteryear, but all I saw when reading this letter was a whiny, xenophobic rant about the supposed evils of money and the ethnic vote and I honestly thought we'd be past that as a society.

 

AND OUTSIDE OF HOCKEY

a PLUS to Robin Scherbatsky from How I Met Your Mother. She's a total HerWay girl: smart, funny, knows her hockey and wouldn't be caught dead in a pink jersey (we assume). We should be mad at her since her Canucks beat our Habs, but her mini-speech about the 2004 Canucks in this week's episode was made of awesome. We'd still totally be her friend if she was a real person.

a MINUS to public transit, since over the last week or so, both of your friendly neighbourhood bloggers were basically left stranded on their way home thanks to malfunctions of some sort or another. It's just not normal for a 35-minute commute to take over two hours.

Fighting Fire With Fire

A Habs-Flames encounter from last season, with a very familiar-looking Calgary centreman.

So, this was supposed to be an update BEFORE tonight's game but the STM had other plans for your friendly neighbourhood blogger, so it's a postgame dealie instead. I also apologize in advance for any poor writing quality, but I'm fighting a cold so hard you'd think it was a Leafs fan.  

Dear readers, today you learned that ~czechtacular loves the Flames. She LOVES them. Believe me. I have yet to officially choose a backup team, but I do like Calgary. Jarome Iginla is one of my absolute favourite NHL players outside of Montreal. I've been a fan since the Olympics. (I don't remember which Olympics, because it was my pre-hockey days.) Sorry to say, but your bloggers have been looking forward to this game for a while. (We're guessing Mike Cammalleri's been looking forward to it too.)  

A quick welcome back to our boys Kyle Chipchura and Yannick Weber. We'd prefer to see them back under better circumstances (you know, not because of an epic amount of injuries), but Chip's been off the ice too long and I have lots of hope for Weber. Also good to see Halak in net: not only does this give me hope that we'll see a healthy distribution of work between our two goalies, keeping them both in great shape, but it reminds me of how brilliant he was against Calgary at the Bell Centre last December. We were at that game, obviously losing our minds, and Halak was amazing. He proved that he can handle the Flames, and that he can put in a great performance and not be overshadowed by a more experienced goalie like Miikka Kiprusoff.  

Pretty good game tonight. It would have been better if we'd won, but that goes without saying, I guess. 

Jay Bouwmeester's a much better fit for the Flames than his name is on the back of his jersey.  

You might be interested to know that ~czechtacular predicted both the Prust/Stewart fight and the Nystrom/Chipchura fight. I'm not even kidding. She called Prust/Stewart today at lunch and while it was happening said Nystrom and Chips would be next, and indeed they were.  

Speaking of Eric Nystrom, he scored the first goal of the game, a pretty decent faraway goal. Mike Cammalleri and Scott Gomez collaborated to tie the game, then a mere thirty seconds later Guillaume Latendresse turned into that Wicked Awesome Gui that shows up from time to time and scored a goal worthy of the awesome fist-pump he celebrated with. 

Then it was Pardy-time for Nystrom and the game got tied 2-2. Jarome Iginla scored a third goal on a power play (but, I mean, it's Jarome Iginla, unguarded, near a net, on a power play. We may not like it but these things are to be expected.) Welcome back, Tomas Plekanec! I think our #14 may have scored the goal of the night in the closing moments of the 2nd period. 

Third period. Third goal for Nystrom. Damn. (Some people may argue that Josh Gorges had an accidental hand in this goal, but I won't hear of it.) The game would stay at 4-3, but there were a few pretty awesome shots on goal in the second half of the last period. We didn't lose for lack of trying.  

I thought it necessary to point out that during the second period, Pierre Houde made a reference to "Dustin Prust," who isn't anyone, but as soon as I said it out loud, he corrected himself. And this is proably the only time that I'll ever get to point out Pierre Houde's mistake, since he's a gentleman and a scholar and probably the best thing about RDS. (Sorry, Dave Morisette.)  

And a shoutout to Calgary's in-house announcer. Our Michel Lacroix is unparalleled, but Mr. Saddledome's got some pipes in him. And just in case you think I'm getting just a little bit too pro-Calgary, I'll say what must be said: Montreal's throwback jerseys are MUCH nicer. I know it goes without saying but honestly. They don't even look good on the skanky ice girls. (Am I allowed to say "skanky"?)