As much as many fans want the Canadiens to perform poorly in hopes of obtaining a high draft pick, it is clearly not in these Habs to intentionally tank.
The way Desharnais and company celebrated after tying the game with less than three seconds remaining, you would think they were playing for spoils - not the role of spoiler.
Good on them.
Elsewhere, in Nashville, it was a big time former Canadiens festival as Sergei Kostitsyn, Andrei Kostisyn, Francis Bouillon and even Hal Gill had points in a 5-4 shootout win over Phoenix.
So, Hab fans, If you are looking for a team to cheer for in the playoffs, they could be your horse.
Speaking of which, with Montreal out of the playoff picture, who will you root for in the post-season?
Contest
Courtesy of Animalerie Little Bear, we have two free tickets to give away for the Montreal - Tampa Bay contest at the Bell Centre on April 4th.
To have a chance at winning these tickets, all you need to do is 'like' our Facebook page before March 30th 2012. Please note that to obtain your winnings, you will need to pick up the tickets at Animalerie Little Bear.
Habs News
HabsAddict.com - In Defence of Pierre Gauthier
HabsAddict.com - VIDEO: Max Pacioretty Interview on HNIC After Hours
HabsWorld.net - HW Recap: A pair of Western Wins
Hockey Inside/Out - About last night … with audio
La Presse - Ça n'a pas été le match de Markov
La Presse - Canadien-Sabres: le bulletin de Pierre Ladouceur
Hockey News
ESPN - Alexander Radulov can bypass waivers
ESPN - GMs meetings: Rule changes being weighed
La Presse - Sécurité maximale, changements minimaux
Sports Illustrated - Depth saves Penguins in injury plague
TSN - Siegel: Kessel 'steaming' amid Leafs stunning collapse
USA Today - Roundup: Sabres win fifth consecutive at home
(Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
10 comments:
I don't think we can ever look at the comparison of what Sergei and Andrei are doing in Nashville. Fact is they could not play here.
They were given opportunity after opportunity and ultimately continuously succumbed to the pressure.
Certainly players cannot play under scrutiny while others thrive. Guys like Gionta and Cole wanted to come here and have put up roughly 30 goals years because they embrace the culture, and pressure.
I personally think it comes down to 1 word; effort.
Paciorety, Cole, Desharnais, Gionta, Plekanec, Gorges, Eller, these guys are embraced and beloved here because they put an honest effort on the ice shift in and shift out.
That's what the fan base cries for.
@Bryan
I agree with your assessment that not all players (SK and AK, namely) are suited for the pressure cooker that it MTL.
Having said that, I posted the little blurb on Nashville because the game sheet was just jam packed with former habs!
I'm with you Bryan. The Kostitsyn brothers never gave a consistent effort here and they were both given more than enough opportunities. Andrei obviously a lot more.
I think giving up on a player happens more than we realize. As I recall Josh Gorges was a throw in on the Craig Rivet trade when we got the 1st round pick which I believe was big Max. I am still not convinced Andrei will continue to show up every night in Nashville.
On another note, I heard a comment on TSN last night that Eric Cole's kids were in school here and getting 1 hour per day of French lessons.
Have the laws changed recently on being able to send your kids to an English school without one of the parents being educated in English in Quebec?
Pierre McGuire was harping on that as being the major issue for players with kids not coming to Mtl.
@Bryan: More than just players who can't hack it in Montreal, some player need to be traded once to get this poop together.
Unfortunately, that, coupled with the intense pressure of Montreal, seems to produce too many who thrive elsewhere (Ribiero, Latendresse, the Kostitsyn brothers, etc.)
The bottom line is that you can't lament what never was...i.e. being upset about a player doing better out of Montreal than in. If that player wasn't getting it done here then, often, they never would have.
Sometimes a change of scenery is exactly the kick in the butt some players need.
@hockeyhype
I think the laws are basically the same but there has always been a loohole to send your kids to English private school if you can afford it.
I know Cole is struggling financially but I heard he scraped enough pennies together.
@Hockeyhype: Yep, to Bryan's point, you can get around the language requirement by putting your kids in private school...so Cole has no worries there!
Bryan/Kamal,
Well that's good news.
I could have sworn I heard Pierre McGuire spouting off about how the loophole had been closed and this was the major reason free agents with families would not come here. I'm sure it was within that last 12 months on Mitch Melnyk's show.
Do you think he would actually make statements like that on air without doing the research?
HH
There used to be a rule that if you sent your kids to private school for a year that after that year they could go to regular English school but I think that was the loophole that closed.
Sending them permanently to private school however I think makes them exempt.
Maybe it's the handling of the players in mtl that leads to their non-production.Ak was doing well when the coaching kept on a line for more than 10 games e.g. Plec, AK and Kovy. Plec, Cammi and AK. Eller, Moen and AK. No PP time. It time to lay some blame on the men behind the bench. Plec is going thru the same thing these days with all his different linemates. Our one consistant line has been the DD line. Even Cole didn't have a great start to the season because he was being moved around.
I was at the game last night in Buffalo. To get the point by going to OT was entertaining, but ultimately, another point we do not need in our quest to "Fail for Nail/Mikhail".
A few observations, Budaj had a horseshoe up his arse for most of that game. To actually get to OT when we're outplayed like that was incredible. Budaj gave up rebound after rebound after big rebound and dumb luck and whiffs kept more pucks from going in. He made some great saves, too, but damn if luck wasn't a HUGE factor in that performance.
Also, Scott Gomez baffles me. He was flying out there. He was confident with the puck, making all kinds of moves with it, chasing down loose pucks hard and made some great passes. Too bad he never shoots. Its sad to see. He clearly still has the wheels and talent and played well with Leblanc and Eller. At 3.5 million, I'd be OK with him. However at 7.5 million....
Markov looked good, the high stick to the face scared me, but he was alright. Obviously rusty and was undressed entirely on the first Ennis goal. He'll get his legs back.
DD was awesome, too. Such a great player. Started the game alternating shifts with Staubitz, I guess to ease himself back into the game, but that line with Pac and Cole is incredible.
Overall, entertaining game to watch live. Buffalo fans are hilarious to listen to.
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