Another day, another Habs loss. But this time, with the Habs dropping a 4-1 decision to the Flyers, the game had a little more meaning.
For the Flyers, they officially clinched a playoffs spot. For Montreal? They are now officially eliminated.
As HIO's Mike Boone points out, the Habs now have 34 regulation losses this season. Thrown in 13 OT/SO losses, and that total swells to 47.
Yowza! Sounds like it's time for the mercy rule!
This season can't end soon enough for Habs fans. And, they can take solace in the the fact that the Habs will certainly be drafting high. Top-Five for sure with a shot at Top-Three.
That's a pretty good consolation and a well needed shot in the arm for what should be an offseason rebuild.
NHL General Managers all use different philosophies to build their teams.
Some, like George McPhee in Washington, build their team with a lot of offensive punch, while others, such as the Minnesota Wild, prefer to use a strong goaltending tandem.
Others still prefer to build their team with a very deep defensive corps.
Two months into the 2011-12 season, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at the top-10 most expensive defensive brigades in the NHL and where they rank overall.
I’ll use the top seven defensemen of each team as a reference and will take the financial numbers from CapGeek.com.
Players that are injured are included in the calculation.
1. Philadelphia Flyers – $24,33 millions 25 games 15 wins 7 losses 3 OTL 33 points (5th EC)
Kimmo Timonen – $6,333,333
Chris Pronger – $4,921,429
Andrej Meszaros – $4,000,000
Matt Carle – $3,437,500
Braydon Coburn – $3,200,000
Matt Walker – $1,700,000
Andreas Lilja – $737,500
2. Los Angeles Kings – $22.56 millions 26 games 13 wins 9 losses 4 OTL 30 points (7th WC)
Drew Doughty – $7,000,000
Jack Johnson – $4,357,143
Willie Mitchell – $3,500,000
Rob Scuderi – $3,400,000
Matt Greene – $2,950,000
Alec Martinez – $737,500
Davis Drewiske – $616,667
3. Winnipeg Jets – $22.30 millions 26 games 11 wins 11 losses 4 OTL 26 points (11th EC)
Dustin Byfuglien – $5,200,000
Ron Hainsey – $4,500,000
Tobias Enstrom – $3,750,000
Johnny Oduya – $3,500,000
Zach Bogosian – $2,500,000
Mark Stuart – $1,700,000
Randy Jones – $1,150,000
4. Toronto Maple Leafs – $22.04 millions 26 games 14 wins 10 losses 2 OTL 30 points (6th EC)
Dion Phaneuf – $6,500,000
Mike Komisarek – $4,500,000
John-Michael Liles – $4,200,000
Luke Scheen – $3,600,000
Carl Gunnarsson – $1,325,000
Jake Gardiner – $1,116,667
Cody Franson – $800,000
5. Phoenix Coyotes – $21.48 millions 25 games 13 wins 9 losses 3 OTL 29 points (9th WC)
Keith Yandle – $5,250,000
Michal Rozsival – $5,000,000
Rotislav Klesla – $2,975,000
Derek Morris – $2,750,000
Adrian Aucoin – $2,000,000
Kurt Sauer – $1,750,000
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – $1,750,000
6. Detroit Red Wings – $20.96 millions 25 games 16 wins 8 losses 1 OTL 33 points (4th WC)
Nicklas Lidstrom – $6,200,000
Brad Stuart – $3,750,000
Jonathan Ericsson – $3,250,000
Niklas Kronwall – $3,000,000
Ian White – $2,875,000
Mike Commodore – $1,000,000
Jakub Kindl – $883,333
7. Vancouver Canucks – $20.53 millions 26 games 15 wins 10 losses 1 OTL 31 points (5th WC)
Kevin Bieksa – $4,600,000
Dan Hamhuis – $4,500,000
Keith Ballard – $4,200,000
Alexander Edler – $3,250,000
Sami Salo – $2,000,000
Andrew Alberts – $1,225,000
Aaron Rome – $750,000
8. Chicago Blackhawks – $20.31 millions 27 games 16 wins 8 losses 3 OTL 35 points (2nd WC)
Brent Seabrook – $5,800,000
Duncan Keith – $5,538,462
Niklas Hjalmarsson – $3,500,000
Steve Montador – $2,750,000
Nick Leddy – $1,116,666
Sean O'Donnell – $850,000
Sami Lepisto – $750,000
9. Calgary Flames – $19.75 millions 26 games 11 wins 13 losses 2 OTL 24 points (13th WC)
Jay Bouwmeester – $6,680,000
Mark Giordano – $4,020,000
Cory Sarich – $3,600,000
Anton Babchuk – $2,500,000
Chris Butler – $1,250,000
Scott Hannan – $1,000,000
Derek Smith – $700,000
10. Washington Capitals (TIED) – $19.07 millions 25 games 13 wins 11 losses 1 OTL 27 points (8th EC)
Mike Green – $5,250,000
Dennis Wideman – $3,935,500
Roman Hamrlik – $3,500,000
Jeff Schultz – $2,750,000
John Erskine – $1,500,000
Karl Alzner – $1,285,000
John Carlson – $845,833
10. San Jose Sharks (TIED) – $19.07 millions 23 games 14 wins 8 losses 1 OTL 29 points (8th WC)
Dan Boyle – $6,666,667
Brent Burns – $3,550,000
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – $3,100,000
Douglas Murray – $2,500,000
Jason Demers – $1,250,000
Jim Vandermeer – $1,000,000
Colin White – $1,000,000
In comparison, the league-leading Minnesota Wild with 37 points, are spending only $12.36 millions on their defensive brigade.
As you can see, there is no guarantee of success even if you spend a lot of money on your defensive unit. In fact, amongst the biggest blueline spenders, only the Chicago Blackhawks lead their division.
2010-11 rankings
1. Philadelphia Flyers – $24,89M
2. Toronto Maple Leafs – $24.28M
3. Vancouver Canucks – $23.35M
4. Detroit Red Wings – $21.83M
5. Calgary Flames – $21.59M
6. Chicago Blackhawks – $21.29M
7. Atlanta Thrashers (Winnipeg Jets) – $21.06M
8. Montreal Canadiens – $20.25M
9. Pittsburgh Penguins – $19.11M
10. Boston Bruins – $18.58M
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Fred is a freelance sports write and translator, as well as a featured Montreal Canadiens blogger on http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/ and a baseball columnist on http://www.dobberbaseball.com/. Fred also joined HabsAddict.com in time for the 2011-12 season.
The Montreal Canadiens were in Philadelphia to take on the Flyers last night in their final game before a week long all star break. And with Carey Price being the sole Canadien participating in the festivities, you would have expected Montreal to leave it all on the ice.
Apparently the Canadiens did not get the memo.
The pregame tension was palpable—these two squads clearly have no love loss between them—with Daniel Carcillo and Mike Richards yapping at P.K. Subban only 15 seconds into the game. The raucous Philly crowd got in on the action too, booing Subban every time he touched the puck.
But despite the hostile atmosphere, the Canadiens played well to start the game, using their speed to create scoring chances in the Flyers' zone. Chipping the puck behind their D and moving their feet, Montreal controlled play for long stretches of the first period.
That is until Montreal once again fell into the trap of indiscipline, taking three penalties in the span of 1:31 to hand the Flyers back-to-back 5-on-3 power plays.
With Andrei Kostitsyn, P.K. Subban and Jaroslav Spacek sitting in the crowded penalty box, the Flyers put two past Price, taking a 2-0 lead into the second period.
After that, it was all Philly as the disorganized Canadiens struggled to get the puck out of their zone and looked like they were more focused on the one week break than the task at hand.
The Flyers would pot two more in the second period—their fourth also on the power play—crushing any hope of a comeback spurred by David Desharnais' third of the season.
Ultimately, the Canadiens were masters of their own destiny, failing to take advantage of some shaky goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky and unable to convert on any of their eight power plays.
With Price on the bench for the extra attacker and the Flyers carrying a two goal lead in the third, Daniel Briere sealed the victory with an empty netter.
Final score: Flyers 5 — Habs 2
Habs' scorers: David Desharnais (3), Mathieu Darche (9).
Flyers' scorers: Jeff Carter (23), Kimmo Timonen (3), Daniel Carcillo (3), Claude Giroux (19), Daniel Briere (26).
Three stars: 1. Claude Giroux, 2. Chris Pronger, 3. Mike Richards.
Game Notes
1. This game was all about the special teams.
The story of the game was special teams and Montreal could have had a better result if they had any success on the PK or the PP.
Philly went 3-for-5 on the power play and Montreal went 0-for-8.
Need I say more?
On the Flyers PP, they constantly had a giant Philly player parked right in front of Price. On the Habs' PP they constantly had 5'6" David Desharnais near the front of the net, but not necessarily in front of it.
Need I say more?
So while many fans are lamenting the Habs lack of physicality as a main reason for the loss—and it was a factor—the Canadiens could have tied and won this game on the power play alone.
As the Montreal Gazette's Pat Hickey pointed out before the game, the Canadiens had no sense of urgency going into the match. They just did not have their heads in the game and it looked like too many of them were already thinking beyond last night to the one week all star break.
So in a way, this was a game they lost before they even stepped on the ice.
2. Desharnais continues to look good in the Habs lineup.
The Canadiens were facing a formidable opponent in more ways than one last night. Not only is Philly the top team in the league but they are also big, strong, physical and skilled.
Despite giving up half a foot to most players in the Flyers' lineup, Desharnais was once again one of the more effective players for the Habs last night.
His gritty play and nose for the net meant that he was usually causing problems for the slower Flyers' defenders. Along with Benoit Pouliot and Mathieu Darche, Desharnais continued to compete when too many of his teammates had already checked out of the game.
Like Max Pacioretty, Desharnais is one of the few Canadiens who is usually in front of or around the net on the power play. As such he is often able to make plays, pick up rebounds and set up scoring chances.
He gives his all but at 5'6" he can only be so effective against 6-foot-plus defenders.
If all of the players on the team tried as hard as Desharnais does, Montreal would be a much more consistent squad.
3. James Wizniewski had a rough night.
The official stat sheet shows Wizniewski with only one giveaway in the entire game and for anyone who actually watched the game you know that this is total folly.
The reality is that The Wiz had three horrible defensive zone turnovers in the first period alone, and is perhaps starting to show why he has played on four teams since 2009.
Despite being a tremendous offensive threat—he has 12 points in 13 games with Montreal so far this season—Wizniewski has a tendency to make poor decisions on the defensive side of the puck.
As such, he plays his best when he keeps his game simple; clearing the puck along the boards or making a quick play to a forward are the best bets for Wiz but, last night, he decided to get fancy.
Three times in the first period Wizniewski tried to clear the puck up the middle of the ice and all three times it resulted in a scoring chance against.
We have to remember that Wiz was a minus-19 when he was traded to the Canadiens. Granted he was playing for a horrible Islanders squad but still, that is just a brutal stat.
If the Habs decide to keep him they absolutely have to pair him with a rock of a defensive player in order for him to be his most effective.
4. Ryan White didn't drop the gloves but he played a gritty game.
The Habs were totally outclassed and overwhelmed for a good two-thirds of the game last night. During that time, the only pseudo spark that they had was provided by the third and fourth lines. The fourth line in particular with Ryan White, Travis Moen and Jeff Halpern, looked like a solid combo for the Canadiens with a nice mix of speed, grit and skill.
Now it's kind of hard to find any bright spots in Montreal's pathetic performance last night, but I liked what I saw from White during the first period before the Flyers took control of the game.
He was going to the net, finishing his checks and getting involved in post-whistle scrums. He even hit a Flyers player after the whistle in a move that drew a crowd and that is exactly the type of role he has to play for Montreal.
White truly seems to be the only one willing to play that gritty, agitating role on a regular basis and Montreal is a better team for it.
It's only been three games, but he already has nine hits and is showing a level of grittiness that few players on the roster bring. Hopefully he keeps it up because the Habs can use his sandpaper.
5. The path to the Cup goes through Philadelphia.
The Habs played well during the first period and had a ton of power play chances over the course of the game but let's be serious here, they are in a different league from the Flyers.
Four lines deep with size, grit, skill and speed on every trio, the Flyers are scary good! Don't forget that they manhandled the Habs last night without the services of the up and coming James Van Riemsdyk—their Max Pacioretty type player from a readiness perspective.
The only question mark for the Flyers is, as always, their goaltending.
Sergei Bobrovsky has played well for them this season and played a decent match last night but you can see that he is a goalie that can be beaten. His rebound control is weak and he gives up a ton of chances as a result.
The problem for Montreal is that they never had anyone in front of the net to capitalize on all the loose pucks.
As for the Flyers, well, if the playoffs last season demonstrated anything it is that it is possible to win the cup without having a lights out goaltender. As such, regardless of the strength or weakness of their goalie, this team is my odds on favorite to go all the way.
Standings and Next Game
In losing to the Flyers, Montreal missed a golden opportunity to move into a tie for points with the Rangers and Bruins.
Instead, Montreal's record drops to 27-18-5 with 59 points in the standings, good enough for sole possession of seventh overall in the East. Montreal will now enjoy a full week off, for the All Star break, playing again next Tuesday February 2, 2011 against the Capitals at the Verizon Center.
Despite the horrible game Montreal played last night, fans have to remember that they are still sixth overall in the East, nine points better than at the same point last season.
In addition, they are doing it without the services of Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges and Michael Cammalleri and that's no small feat.
So things aren't all bad.
Enjoy the break folks!
(Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images North America)
Dictionary.com defines the word nemesis as follows:
nem·e·sis [nem-uh-sis]
–noun, plural
1. something that a person cannot conquer, achieve, etc.: The performance test proved to be my nemesis.
2. an opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome.
3. Classical Mythology, the goddess of divine retribution.
4. an agent or act of retribution or punishment.
If ever the Montreal Canadiens had a nemesis, the Philadelphia Flyers would be that team.
The Flyers and Canadiens have played each other in two playoff series since 2008, with Montreal losing both series four games to one. In addition, the two teams have faced each other three times already this season with the Flyers winning two out of three.
Moreover, Philly has been able to physically dominate the small, fast Canadiens forwards and, as such, it has been a long time since Montreal has had any real answer for what the Flyers bring.
So tonight's fourth and final meeting is sure to be a high intensity match between these two teams whose rivalry seems to grow with each encounter. Not only because of the bad blood between the two teams but, with a week off for the All-Star break starting tomorrow, both teams are sure to leave it all on the ice.
The Flyers are the No. 1 team in the league with 69 points in the standings—tied with the Canucks for points but ahead of them by virtue of their 32 wins to Vancouver’s 30—and look like the odds-on favorite to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Montreal, on the other hand, has had its ups and downs this season. In addition, the Canadiens are decimated by injuries, having lost both Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges to season-ending knee problems. In addition, top sniper Michael Cammalleri continues to be sidelined with a separated shoulder.
Yet, despite its losses, "Team Clinic" is 6-1-3 over its last 10 games and only two points out of first place in its division. A win tonight by Montreal would put it in a tie with the Rangers and the Bruins—first place in the Northeast—with 61 points. In addition, it would leave the Canadiens only two back of Washington and three back of Pittsburgh, fifth and fourth, respectively, in the Eastern Conference.
Needless to say, Montreal wants this win really badly.
Another source of motivation is that neither team wants to go into a one-week break on a loss, so expect a playoff atmosphere tonight at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly.
Claude Giroux and Mike Richards are the two hottest players for the Flyers, with five points in two games and five points in three games, respectively. For Montreal, the defense is bringing the heat with James Wizniewski's 12 points in his last 11 games and P.K. Subban having six in his last six.
Max Pacioretty has also been heating things up lately with four points in his last two games.
Tonight's game is one that will feature a nice goaltending matchup with Carey Price—24 wins—going head-to-head against Sergei Bobrovsky—20 wins.
It is always a big event when the Philadelphia Flyers come to play in Montreal.
With so much playoff bad blood accumulated over the last few seasons, the atmosphere is always charged at the Bell Centre.
Yesterday was no different and the building was rocking as the home town Canadiens took to the ice. Things started off well for the Habs as P.K. Subban delivered a thunderous check on Daniel Carcillo in his first shift. Carcillo, of course, tried to get Subban to fight but P.K. simply skated away.
After that hit, however, neither team was really able to get much going. The Flyers, who had played the previous night in Pittsburgh, looked sluggish and tired while the Habs looked rusty from three days off from game action.
The Canadiens slowly started exerting more and more pressure as the game went on, and it quickly became apparent the Philly was ripe for the taking. Unfortunately for the Habs, they played a very Jekyll and Hyde game, demonstrating a great nose for the net and cycling with speed, but also turning the puck over and having a myriad of unforced errors.
Philadelphia took the lead with 18 seconds left in the first on a poorly timed dump into the neutral zone by P.K. Subban during a Habs line change. Jeff Carter skated in with the puck and put it past Price to make it a 1-0 game.
The teams went back and forth on the scoreboard, despite the Habs outplaying the Flyers for large stretches but goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was the difference maker. Making 38 saves on the night, Bobrovsky kept his team in it while the Habs were barraging the offensive zone.
Ultimately, however, the Canadiens were their own worst enemies last night.
Just after they had tied the game at three, Jaroslav Spacek made an ill advised deep pinch, short-handed, sending an odd-man rush the other way for the winning goal. They Flyers would add one more third period goal to closes things out.
Despite Philly being a visibly tired squad, turnovers by the Canadiens and outstanding goaltending from Bobrovsky delivered their fourth straight win.
Final score: Flyers 5 - Habs 3
Habs' scorers: P.K. Subban (2), Tomas Plekanec (10), Brian Gionta (10)
Flyers' scorers: Jeff Carter (13), James van Riemsdyk (6,7), Nikolay Zherdev (11), Claude Giroux (16)
Three stars: 1. Sergei Bobrovsky, 2. Brian Gionta, 3. P.K. Subban
Game Notes
1. Subban looked more comfortable but is still making too many mistakes.
On the Flyers' first goal, Subban lobbed the puck into the neutral zone while the Habs were changing lines. In effect, he gave the puck to the Flyers with no Habs players in the neutral zone to provide any resistence. This allowed Jeff Carter enough room to skate in and put the puck past Price.
Last period goals always hurt, but they hurt even more when both teams look lost and the Habs were just starting to get a little momentum going. The goal was setup by a lazy play from Subban who should have either re-grouped behind his net or iced the puck along the boards, not up the middle.
With bad plays like this P.K.'s inexperience continues to show. His skill level has never been in question but it is his decision making that leaves much to be desired. Subban's mistakes are magnified since he has returned from his three-game stint in the press box, and you would have think that this is factor of confidence. As much as he is a self-assured individual, he is still human and can be negatively affected by being a healthy scratch.
It's unfortunate because with a goal and an assist last night, P.K.'s night wasn't all bad. The problem is that he had two critical turnovers and both of them ended up in the back of the net.
The Canadiens need Subban to be much better than that and, as a young defenseman, he will learn over time. The problem is that with Markov out of the lineup the Canadiens need more from him now.
To me, this just means that the Habs must absolutely bring in a top-two defenseman before the trade deadline.
2. Max Pacioretty looks like a gamer.
While he and the rest of his teammates played a relatively nondescript first period, Pacioretty showed what has made his so successful in the AHL, during the second and third frames.
With the Canadiens down by two goals around the seven minute mark of the second period, Pacioretty, thinking offensively with two Flyers players right next to him, picked up the puck in the neutral zone and got it up to Gionta rather than sending it back to his defense.
Gionta gained the offensive blueline and passed the puck to Pacioretty who was entering the zone with speed. MaxPac skated the puck into the zone and ground it out in the corner. The result was a beautiful scoring chance as Gomez popped the puck out to Gionta who rung it off of the post.
The play was setup by Pacioretty's gritty, offensive-minded play and his speed and strength were critical factors. More importantly, that shift brought the Habs to life and they started to dominate play with the Plekanec line coming close to scoring on the next shift.
While his play didn't result in a goal, it did setup an excellent scoring chance and shifted the momentum towards the Canadiens. Pacioretty's excellent work continued through the rest of the game and he was clearly the catalyst on the Scott Gomez line who, not coincidentally, were a force every time they were on the ice.
Now, as I cautioned before yesterday's game, we should not get too far ahead of ourselves because this was only one game and Patches needs to be given time to develop. That being said, there is no denying that he was the Habs' best forward last night.
3. The Habs second line was their best line all night.
Speaking of the second line, buoyed by the electrifying play of Max Pacioretty, the Gomez line not only came to life but was actually the offensive spark plug for the Habs.
It's amazing how Gomez is so much better when he is playing with two bonafide scorers rather than one scorer and one grinder—hello Travis Moen!
I am hoping the Jacques Martin keeps this line together because with Pacioretty's obvious enthusiasm coupled with his size, skill and speed, he looks like the perfect compliment for that trio.
Pacioretty's grittiness opened up all kinds of space for Gomez to skate, stickhandle and make plays. And, just like a good defensive line in football giving the quarterback a few more seconds to make the play, Gomez was a better play for it.
4. Andrei Kostitsyn had a rough night.
Before the game, Coach martin had penciled Kostitsyn in on the fourth line with Jeff Halpern and Maxim Lapierre. Andrei played a few shifts in the bottom-six before being moved back to his habitual position on the top line with Plekanec and Michael Cammalleri.
But that didn't last long.
Unfortunately, for AK46, his play was sloppy and while he had a few scoring chances, he had even more turnovers. None were worse, however, than his blatant giveaway that led to a Flyers 3-on-1 break. Were it not for a quick leg save by Price, that one would have been in the back of the net.
While Andrei has played well for large parts of this season, he has also looked lost on too many occasions. There is no disputing AK's skills but as has been the case since the beginning of his career, it is his occasional lack of focus that is disturbing.
Now, in his defense, I am not sure why Martin had him starting on the fourth line to start with as I have liked what I have seen from Kostitsyn all season. He does, after all, have 20 points and is a plus-8, so I am not sure what exactly Martin's problems is with Kostitsyn.
AK46 is not a heart and soul guy like, say, Brian Gionta, and while he has shown tremendous resilience so far this season, Martin could very easily lose him if he continues to treat him this way.
While there is no doubting the success that Martin has lead his team to so far this season, his "one size fits all" approach to managing players is antiquated. People are people and are, more importantly, individuals. As such, I think you are asking for trouble if you try to handle them all in the exact same way.
Playing in a contract year, you have to wonder if Kostitsyn even wants to remain in Montreal whether they want him or not.
5. Price didn't play his best game.
In letting in five goals against for the first time this season in regulation, Carey Price wasn't in top form. He didn't look like he had that steely-eyed focus that has been so prominent all season. Instead, Price was often unable to corral the puck letting out uncharacteristic rebounds as a result. As such, there were a lot of goal-mouth scrambles that could have been prevented.
None were more damaging, however, than on the Flyers' third period PP with the score tied at three. On the play Price made a good first save but slid too much to his right, allowing the puck to bounce to his left where there was an open net for the puck to be tucked into.
In his defense, however, the Habs were shorthanded and his teammates were still trying to get back from a failed 3-on-2, where Jaroslav Spacek was perhaps a little too aggressive on the play.
Price was not to blame for this loss as each goal was caused by a terrible play, decision or giveaway by his teammates. That being said, he wasn't there to cover up their mistakes like he has been in every game so far this season.
Standings and Next Game
The loss marks the first time this season that the Canadiens have dropped three straight decisions. They remain stalled in the standings with an 18-11-2, good for 38 points. Despite the loss, the Habs remain in first place in the division as the Bruins also lost last night and have 36 points with two games in hand.
Neither team has time to dwell on their loss, however, as the Bruins are in Montreal tonight.
The Bruins have slowly been closing the gap between them and the Canadiens over the last few weeks and tonight's winner will claim the top spot in the Northeast for themselves.
The Habs will be looking to avoid losing four straight games for the first time this season, a result that might just send the Habs faithful over the edge.
The puck drops around 7:10 pm tonight.
(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)
The Canadiens and Flyers have a history of animosity going back to the days of the Broadstreet Bullies in the 70s.
The flame of angst continued to flicker through playoff appearances in the 80s and 90s, but went a little quiet over recent years. Well, that quiet is no more with the teams clashing twice over the last three seasons in the playoffs, and the Habs getting spanked on each occasion.
This year's version of the rivalry started after the two teams' first matchup of the season, a 3-0 shutout win by the Habs on November 16, 2010. After the game, a visibly upset Mike Richards went into a rant about how P.K. Subban needs to show more respect to veterans and that he shouldn't be so cocky. Richards' speech might have sparked a lot of discussion off the ice but nothing manifested on the ice in the rematch a week later, where the Flyers went to work on a 3-2 comeback win.
Tonight is the third meeting of the season between the teams with both seemingly headed in different directions.
The Flyers are soaring high on a three-game winning streak, having a 20-7-5 record for 45 points in the standings. They currently sit atop both Eastern Conference and league standings.
The Habs, on the other hand, have had a tough time of things over the last 12 games with a 6-6 record. Their current two-game skid coincided with a two-game absence from the lineup by Scott Gomez and Subban
Subban, on the other hand, will be playing his third game since serving a three-game stretch in the press box. As much as P.K.'s confidence was evident in the early parts of the season, since returning to the ice he has looked more like a tentative rookie. With Andrei Markov out for the season and Jaroslav Spacek returning tonight from an "upper body" injury, the Habs will need Subban to quickly return to prime form.
It looks like Michael Cammalleri will be reunited with top center Tomas Plekanec and Travis Moen will be playing on the other wing. Andrei Kostitsyn practiced on the fourth line yesterday so you would have to assume that Coach Martin has seen something he didn't like for AK46.
Look for Kostitsyn to move up to the first line at some point during the match, especially if the Habs are down by a goal.
The Flyers are coming off of three straight wins and are 5-1 in their last six games. Their only loss was a 5-4 shootout loss where they still picked up a point in the standings.
Philly will be playing their second game in 48 hours tonight and the Canadiens would be well advised to take the play to them early. Considering that the Flyers are coming off a hard-fought emotional battle against the division rival Penguins, scoring the first goal could go a long way towards victory for the Habs.
In a very difficult month, the Habs are facing yet another huge test this week playing the Flyers tonight and Bruins tomorrow. Both are teams that the Habs are in direct competition in the standings, and they also play a physical brand that the Habs don't tell to do as well against.
As I have said before, if the Canadiens truly hope to contend this season they have to be able to beat teams that play a physical brand of hockey.
Carey Price will be making his 28th start of the season and there is no word yet on who the Flyers will be countering with. With Brian Boucher playing the last three games and being in a back-to-back situation, you'd have to think it might be Sergei Bobrovsky in the net.
The Canadiens have not yet lost more than two games in a row this season, and they hope to ensure that trends doesn't change tonight.
Game time is 7:30 pm and the puck should drop around 7:38 pm. This one should be a barn-burner!
(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)
For all the preamble to last night's game and all of the talk about P.K. Subban and Mike Richards, the only thing that materialized was two teams that came to play hockey.
Actually, that is not an entirely accurate statement as neither team came ready to play a full 60 minutes. The Canadiens controlled the first 20 minutes of the game and took a 2-0 lead on two fluky goals by Maxim Lapierre, but the Flyers came alive over the final 40 minutes to claim the victory.
Lapierre actually came within a hair of getting a hat-trick when he rung the puck off of the post on a 2-on-1. The Canadiens, however, took their foot off of the accelerator in the second period and allowed the Flyers to dictate the pace of the game. And man, did it get ugly!
The Flyers outshot the Habs 21-4 in the second period and 45-31 overall, with the Canadiens leaving Price to his own devices. Were if not for Price's brilliance, this would have been a blowout in the second period.
Instead, the Habs carried a 2-1 lead into the third period where they were again unable to mount any pressure in the Flyers' zone. The result was two Flyers' goals before the eight minute mark and a 3-2 Philly win.
Flyers' goaltender, Brian Boucher, looked shaky all game but the Habs were unable to take advantage of his soft play and their missed opportunities came back to haunt them.
The lack of venom in this game was almost as much of a lunch bag let down as the 2-0 first period lead that evaporated. And while there are 82 games in a season and the Habs are not going to win them all, losing after taking a 2-0 lead on the road is unacceptable for a team with aspirations of being a contender.
Final score: Flyers 3 - Habs 2
Habs' scorers: Maxim Lapierre (3, 4)
Flyers' scorers: Ville Leino (4), Claude Giroux (12), James van Riemsdyk (1)
Three Stars: 1. James van Riemsdyk, 2. Carey Price, 3. Darroll Powe
Game Notes
1. Carey Price continues to lead this team.
Price was once again the best player on the ice for the Montreal Canadiens last night. The problem is, where the team in front of him usually puts in a solid effort, they took the last two periods off and left Price to take care of business.
And take care of business he did.
Stopping 20 out of 21 second period shots and 42 of 45 on the night, Price has yet to yield more than three goals against in regulation over 20 games played. As such, the Canadiens are second in the league for fewest goals against with 42. Boston has 38 but has played two fewer games than the Canadiens.
Were it not for a myriad of brilliant saves, this game would have been a blowout. What was amazing was to see how many pucks were hitting Price square in the chest, whether from head on shots or left to right saves. Those stops are a testament to Price's positioning, as pucks just tend to hit him in the chest when he is on his game.
As much as the team knows they can rely on Price, it is not an effective strategy to sit back and let him do all the work. All you have to do is look back at last year's playoffs to see how that strategy will only get you so far.
2. Lapierre, Jeff Halpern and Benoit Pouliot looked real good together.
The Habs' third line usually consists of Halpern centering Pouliot and Mathieu Darche, but the latter has been a healthy scratch the last two games to make room for Yannick Weber.
Last night, with Lapierre on their wing, this combo was yet again the Habs most dangerous line. Like Price, this line is as steady as a metronome and is consistently the Habs most effective trio.
Lapierre added a nice dose of speed and skill, and the result was two first period goals with assists going to Halpern and Pouliot on each. Lapierre's skill set is a good complement to the tenacious forecheck of Halpern and the skill of Pouliot.
While both of Lapierre's goals were weak ones that Boucher would surely like to have back, his line gave the Habs the opportunity to win last night's game. If the Habs had been able to muster one power play goal—they went 0-for-4—or one goal from either of the top two lines, victory would have been theirs.
It's great to see the third line contributing on a regular basis, but that should be a bonus and not main offensive thrust of the team.
3. The Scott Gomez situation is beyond tiresome.
I know I seem to bring up Gomez's poor play after almost every game but believe me, I am as sick of talking about it as you are of hearing about it. I keep thinking that this game or the next game, Gomez will finally play well, will be more involved in the play and will get some points. But game after game, it seems like he is becoming less and less effective.
In case you're counting, Gomez has been averaging 18:17 of ice time over 21 games, and has six points (2A, 4A) to show for it. In addition, he has only three total points (1G, 2A) over the last 14 games and three power play points (3A) over 21 games.
These are the kind of production numbers you'd expect from a third or fourth line center playing ten minutes a game with no time on the PP. But Gomez has been getting almost double that amount and is always on the second wave of the power play.
So the question has to be asked: how long a leash does Gomez have? Can the coach keep throwing him out there, game after game, for close to 20 minutes without him producing?
During last night's game, Gomez had 19:59 of ice time, 3:23 of power play time, zero shots on goal, was 30.8 percent in the faceoff circle, had zero points and finished the night a minus-1. That is simply not acceptable for a player who is supposed to be the Canadiens second line center.
When Scott Gomez plays more than 18:40, the Montreal Canadiens are 1-6-0. When he plays 18:39 or less, Habs are 12-1-1.
Yowza!
4. The Habs top two lines are in disarray.
The top two lines are not getting it done consistently and I think the reason starts with a "G", ends with a "Z" and has the word "ome" in the middle.
I've been saying for a while that the coaching staff should demote Gomez from the second line. Now, however, the mainstream media is starting to say that same thing, so maybe Coach Martin will shake things up next game.
The biggest mistake that the coaching staff has made this season has been to split up the No.1 line in an effort to get Gomez going. The result has been spotty performances from the first and second line, instead of a resurgence of Gomez.
The Tomas Plekanec line has been dismantled and recombined several times in an effort to light a fire under Gomez, but it is not working. Were it not for the Halpern line, the Canadiens would be in serious trouble in the standings right now.
Jeff Halpern, averaging 13:21 of ice time is fourth team scoring with 13 points (5G, 8A), and Benoit Pouliot, averaging 12:16 of ice time is tied for fifth with 11 points (5G, 6A).
In addition, Mathieu Darche, Travis Moen and Maxim Lapierre—averaging 9:37, 12:39 and 11:57 respectively—each have five points; one less than Gomez.
I say enough is enough, it's time to try someone else as the second line center. If Martin is not ready to use Lars Eller as the second pivot, then he should put Halpern in that spot and drop Gomez down to the third line.
As my Hockeybuzz.com colleague, Steven Hindle, pointed out yesterday on Twitter, if Jacques Martin can't get Gomez going soon, this could quickly become Pierre Gauthier's problem.
5. Yannick Weber looked a little more comfortable on the fourth line.
The line of Eller, Weber and Tom Pyatt had a bunch of excellent scoring chances last night. And while Weber looked more comfortable playing as a forward, he is still playing out of his element and that makes it harder for him to contribute to the success of the team.
Weber, who has been ripping it up while playing the right point on the power play in Hamilton, is being placed on the left side on the second wave of the PP, with Roman Hamrlik, and you can see that he is not comfortable. If you watch the replays, Weber was unable to keep the puck in at the blueline a few times because he was on his off wing.
I don't know what it is about the Canadiens that they always seem to put players in positions that they are not comfortable with, in order to keep them in the lineup. Mark Streit, Jaroslav Spacek, Josh Gorges, Lars Eller, Yannick Weber, etc. Why not find a place for these players to play in spots they are accustomed to instead of trying to force a square peg into a round hole?
Sure some players can adjust to position changes, but most cannot and it shows in their on-ice performance. If the Habs want to get the most out of Weber, they should be playing him as the seventh defenseman on the right side.
Ultimately, it is hard to properly evaluate Weber's play so far when he is averaging 9:42 of ice time on the fourth line.
Standings and Next Game
By letting a 2-0 first period lead slip away, the Canadiens missed a golden opportunity to leapfrog over the Flyers into second overall in the East. The loss drops their record to 13-7-1 with 27 points in the standings—first overall in the Northeast division.
The Boston Bruins, 3-1 losers against Tampa, failed to make up any ground and are still three points back of the Canadiens with two games in hand.
The Canadiens travel back to Montreal for a rare visit from the L.A. Kings on Wednesday evening. The Kings are a team that hopes to contend for the cup this year so it will be another big test for a Canadiens.
Hopefully Jacques Martin has a few tricks up his sleeve because the Habs' forward ranks are in major need of a shakeup.
The Montreal Canadiens are in the city of brotherly love, this morning, in preparation for tonight's game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
While Philadelphia holds the moniker of brotherly love, I'm fairly certain there will be no love lost in tonight's tilt between the two conference rivals.
In case you've been hiding under a rock the last few weeks, these two teams clashed last Tuesday and the result was a 3-0 Canadiens win. More than just winning, the Canadiens, and in particular rookie defenseman P.K. Subban, played up to the Flyers and didn't at all appear intimidated by their goon tactics.
This prompted Flyers' Captain, Mike Richards, to tell the media that he felt Subban has to earn respect and if he is not careful he will get hurt.
Richards is a smart cookie and his rant has put the spotlight directly on Subban. P.K. is a confident guy and one who seems very capable of handling himself. That being said, it will be interesting to see if Richards got into Subban's head or not. While Subban is a confident young man, he is not necessarily impervious to psychological warfare.
Will Subban stick to his game or will he get caught running around? If he chooses the latter path, then Richards has won this round.
The Flyers are sure to give the rookie extra attention tonight so Subban had better keep his head up. I'd like to see players like Travis Moen and Maxim Lapierre doing a better job of insulating young Subban so that he doesn't have to get involved in fights, and can stick to playing hockey. Subban might have the strength to throw down but the Canadiens are better served with him on the ice than in the penalty box.
Only one point separates these two teams in the standings and the winner of tonight's match will stake a claim on second overall in the East.
The Flyers are coming off a dramatic overtime victory against the conference leading Washington Capitals and have revenge on their minds against the Habs. They also want to continue to put the memory of a ridiculous 8-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Lighting, two games ago, behind them.
The Canadiens hit a bump in the road against the Nashville Predators but have otherwise won five of their last six games, killing 26 of 27 penalties in the process. They now have the top ranked penalty killing unit in the league operating at 90.5 percent efficiency.
Carey Price will get his 20th start of the season for the Habs with Brian Boucher getting the call for the Flyers.
The stage is set and the actors are all in place. This game has the hype of a playoff matchup and is more akin to the "Thrilla in Manilla," "Intensity in Ten Cities" or "The Rumble In the Jungle."
The puck drops at 7:05 pm (ish). Tune in to see who plays Ali to who's Fraser.
The Montreal Canadiens faced their biggest challenge of the season on the same day they announced that Andrei Markov would be out of the lineup "long term".
Last night was the return of the Canadiens' playoff nemeses; the Philadelphia Flyers. The challenge for the Habs was considerable because the Flyers are considered by many to be the best team in the Eastern Conference with incredible depth, one of the best top-four defense in the East, and a goaltender named Bob who is playing lights out hockey.
Not to mention the Flyers are a physical team that likes to lean on their opponents and the Habs don't have the best track record, in recent years, playing against physical opponents.
None of that mattered last night, however, as the Canadiens played an aggressive brand of hockey and leveraged their smooth transition game to attack the Flyers with speed. The result was that the talented but slower Philly D had a tough time containing the likes of Michael Cammalleri, Tomas Plekanec, Andrei Kostitsyn and Brian Gionta.
When the Flyers tried to contain them, they often took penalties and the Canadiens made them pay by scoring two PP markers.
Despite playing the night before, the Flyers did not look tired at all and used their tremendous skill to barrage the Canadiens net, especially in the second period where they outshot the Habs 20-8—the Canadiens were outshot 41-28 on the night. But, the story of the game was once again Carey Price, as he turned aside all 41 shots to earn his third shutout of the season.
Scary moment of the night: Darroll Powe absolutely obliterated Josh Gorges with a crushing, blindside hit at around the six minute mark of the second. While it wasn't the dirtiest hit you've ever seen, it was clearly from the blindside and Gorges, who had just gotten rid of the puck, didn't have time to protect himself. Fortunately, Teflon Josh got up pretty quickly and seemed no worse for wear.
Scary moment of the night part II: Powe was at it again when he checked Jeff Halpern and his shoulder made contact with Halpern's head, which in turn got crunched against the boards. Halpern fell backwards and to the ice with his bell rung. The hit wasn't very hard but it was to the head and it perhaps speaks more to the need of the Canadiens' organization to change from rigid to flexible glass than anything else.
Boneheaded moment of the night: Laviolette, true to his character and coaching style, put out the goons with less than two minutes to play to "send a message" to the Canadiens. There really is no reason, use, or place for this kind of thuggery in the league anymore. This is not the 70s where the game was focused so much more on fighting.
When a coach does something this blatant with the sole purpose of manhandling the opposition, trying to start fights, or otherwise intimidate the opposition in a losing cause, the league should have some kind of recourse like a fine against the offending coach.
Jody Shelley out on the power play with less than two minutes to play in a 3-0 game? Really? Shelley? Really?
Final score: Habs 3 - Flyers 0
Habs' scorers: Michael Cammalleri (5), Tomas Plekanec (7), Brian Gionta (5)
Flyers' scorers: None
Three stars: 1. Carey Price, 2. Tomas Plekanec, 3. Brian Gionta
Game Notes
1. More of the same from Carey Price.
It seems like Price is getting better and better and more and more confident with each game that passes. Last night, Price faced his biggest challenge of the season with the crease-crashing Flyers in town, but he still managed to make save after save while making everything look so effortless.
Price was in the zone and seemed to completely tune out the bodies in front of him and the ones that were crashing around him. He seems like he has reached a level of mental focus and maturity of character where he can remain unfazed by anything the opposition can throw at him.
This, of course, is a complete reversal from the Price of last season who would take each goal against to heart, each contact by the opposition as a reason to protest, and each deflected shot as a reason to give up.
The Flyers had a key 5-on-3 power play for 30 seconds with the Habs leading 1-0, in which Price saved the day. On that PP, Price made several difficult saves without letting out many rebounds, to frustrate the Flyers and maintain the Habs' lead. 38 seconds after the penalties were killed off, Plekanec put a softie past Sergei Bobrovsky, five-hole, to make it 2-0.
That's the kind of turnaround in momentum that the Habs were victim to time and time again last season. This season however, due to the solid play of Price, the Canadiens are more often than not on the right side of those momentum shifts.
In case you were wondering, Price is now 11-5-1 with a 2.05 GAA (sixth overall), a .930 save percentage (sixth overall), and three shutouts (second overall). His eleven wins put him in a first place tie with Michal Neuvirth and Sergei Bobrovsky.
2. Andrei Kostitsyn is playing well despite his linemates.
Talk about a transformation! Kostitsyn was pulled off of the Habs top line and asked to play on with a floundering center and a third line winger at a time when he was the leading scorer on the team. Not only did Kostitsyn put his head down and work, but he didn't even complain and he continues playing excellent hockey in both ends of the rink.
It takes a lot of character to be removed from the top line for the good of the team, and have that not affect your play. Especially when you consider that Kostitsyn is in a contract season and "needs" to produce points in order to earn his weight in gold.
His ask-no-questions attitude counts for a lot and shows the mental maturity that AK has gained since last season. He just gets it now and has truly become a team player.
3. The Plekanec line was buzzing all night in the Flyers' zone.
Plekanec, Gionta, and Cammalleri used their speed and mobility to expose the slower Flyers' defense, often leaving them flat-footed. The result was that the trio had a plethora of scoring chances in each period and made life difficult for the Flyers every time they were on the ice.
After a bit of a slow start to the season, both Cammalleri and Gionta have at least one point in each of the last five games. With three points in the game and 11 for the season, Gionta now has eight points in the last five games and Cammalleri has six points over that same stretch.
Leading pivot, Plekanec, is playing out of his mind right now and has 10 points in his last five game for 20 on the season. His 20 points put him in an 11th place tie in league scoring with Teemu Selanne, Chris Stewart and Nicklas Backstrom.
Plekanec seems to be the cure-all for what ails offensive players and his influence has helped to jump-start Gionta. Scott Gomez, on the other hand, seems to have the opposite effect on players.
Too bad Plekanec can't play with three wingers because AK46 would also be ripping it up!
4. The special teams continue to be special.
The Habs' power play went 2-for-7 and their penalty kill quashed all six shorthanded situations last night. What more can you ask from your special teams?
The power play has now scored in four straight games, producing eight goals over that span including two last night, and is now operating at a 15.7 percent efficiency rate.
While the power play struggled early this season the Canadiens' penalty kill has been scorching. The Habs have allowed just three power play goals against in 42 shorthanded situations over the last nine games for a searing 92.85 percent efficiency. Their penalty killing unit is humming at a 89.7 percent efficiency rate, good enough for first overall in the league.
With the news that Markov is likely gone for the season, the Habs will need to continue to get massive contributions from their special teams if they want to remain a top-tier team this season.
5. The talented Mr. Subban.
Subban started off the game by reverting to his early season form where he was trying to do too much on the ice. You have to think that with Markov out, Subban knew the coaching staff was going to lean heavily on him, and that probably played on his mind.
Where Subban has become steady and effective by taking his time and simplifying his game, he seemed at times last night like he was trying to do too much. He settled his game down after the first period, however, and you have to think that the coaching staff spoke to him in an effort to tame their stallion.
After that, Subban went back to being his effective self and even demonstrated a yet unseen facet of his multi-faceted game; his aggravating character.
As Arpon Basu pointed out on Twitter during the game, Subban is quickly becoming one of the most hated players in the league with an outstanding ability to get under the opposition's skin. Not only is he an incredibly skilled player, but he is always yapping at the opposition and driving them crazy.
As a result, Subban was targeted by the Flyers for most of the latter half of the game. He even came close to dusting off with Flyers' captain Mike Richards but the linemen got in the way. That would have been one heck of a fight too, as Richards is tough as nails and Subban has the strength to keep up.
Needless to say, Subban is sure to get extra unwanted attention in the rematch on Monday. The good thing for him is that he seems to thrive under those conditions!
Standings and Next Game
The win improves the Canadiens record to 12-5-1 with 25 points in the standings. They are still first place in Northeast division—six points ahead of Boston who has three games in hand—and are third place overall in the Eastern conference.
The Canadiens have a day off before continuing their four-game homestand on Thursday against the Nashville Predators.
For now, the Habs are looking really good and the question that is on everyone's minds this morning is whether or not they are for real.
What do you think?
Game Highlights
(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)
