Topics include: -Break down Canucks vs Sharks -Break down Bruins vs Lightning -Talk about the signing of Alexei Emelin and what that means for Andrei Markov -Take a few minutes to talk about Gary Carter
Click play below to listen in (listing time 46:41):
With the memory of a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of the Calgary Flames still fresh in their minds, Montreal took to the ice against the Vancouver Canucks last night in what seemed like a mismatch of epic proportions.
Prior to the game, the Canucks where first place in the league, had the best goals-for, the best goals-against, the No. 1 power play and the fourth overall penalty kill.
Add to that the fact that Montreal hadn't won in Vancouver since November 2000 and that they were on a three-game losing streak, and the outlook was bleak.
Despite the long odds against them and true to their form of showing up when you least expect them to, the Canadiens came out and played one of their best road games of the season.
Vancouver tends to win games with skill instead of brawn and, as such, Montreal actually stacks up pretty well against them.
With a fast paced, skilled-based game being employed by both teams, the match was extremely entertaining and a real glimpse of what true skilled hockey looks like. With very few stops in play and end-to-end action, the fans certainly got their money's worth!
Montreal got on the board first, when Benoit Pouliot sprung David Desharnais with a breakaway pass that he tucked five-hole on Roberto Luongo. Only 1:07 later, Brian Gionta potted the rebound off a P.K. Subban slapper for his 22nd of the season to make it 2-0.
The shots were 14-1 Montreal by the 10 minute mark of the first before Vancouver was able to mount any push back. After that, the tables were turned, with the Canucks firing 11 shots to Montreal's two over the final 10 minutes of the first and out-shooting the Habs 39-25 on the night.
Montreal got themselves into penalty trouble, handing the Canucks' first overall power play six man-advantages, including four in the third period, but were able to stop all but two.
Henrik Sedin got the Nucks on the board 3:27 into the second, before Andrei Kostitsyn fired his 14th of the season—the eventual game winner—past Luongo at 10:36 of the same period.
The Canucks made it a one-goal game early in the third, but Carey Price, who stopped 37 shots on the night, stood tall, turning aside shot after shot to secure the victory.
Final score: Habs 3 - Canucks 2
Habs' scorers: David Desharnais (6), Brian Gionta (22), Andrei Kostitsyn (14)
Canucks' scorers: Henrik Sedin (15), Mikael Samuelsson (17)
Three stars: 1. Carey Price, 2. Ryan Kesler, 3. Brian Gionta
Key Moment
With time running out and the Habs clinging to a one-goal lead, lead-footed Hal Gill got into a foot race for an icing call. Gill dove and used his long reach to touch the puck first, sending the faceoff back to the Canucks' zone with about 30 seconds to play.
Gill's diving play prevented the Canucks from pulling Roberto Luongo for the extra attacker and helped ensure the Montreal win.
Game Notes
1. Will the real Montreal Canadiens please stand up?
The Canadiens, clearly intent on reversing their recent fortunes, employed their most intense net-presence game of the season last night. They unfortunately didn't maintain this style for the entire game, but in the first period, Montreal looked more like the crease-crashing Flyers than the habitually perimeter-playing Canadiens.
From Andrei Kostitsyn to Travis Moen to Brian Gionta and Max Pacioretty, it seemed like every line had players who were crashing the crease. The result was a flurry of goal-mouth scrambles and scoring chances by Montreal, with players falling all over Luongo.
As much as a physical presence has been lacking around the opposition's net for most of the season, the Canadiens showed last night that they actually do have players who can play that role.
Why they don't do so more often is a bit of a mystery to me, but they should take note from last night's game and try to consistently reproduce that style of play.
2. Four players, four huge games.
While Carey Price was the uncontested hero of the night, the entire team put in a solid effort, helping the Habs snap their three-game losing streak.
With a 2-0 lead in the game, Coach Martin decided to shorten his bench by essentially sitting the Desharnais line for the balance of the game. I'm not sure what the exact motivation was for this move but, with the other three lines firing on all cylinders, perhaps Martin wanted to go with the lines he felt could guarantee him the win.
The entire team played well, but a few players in particular stood out: Hal Gill, P.K. Subban, Roman Hamrlik and Tomas Plekanec.
All four players finished the night with more than 20 minutes of ice time, with Subban and Gill doing yeoman's work, clocking in at 26:17 and 25:53 respectively.
Gill, Subban and Hamrlik led the charge in boxing the Canucks out of the high slot, clearing the front of the net and getting rid of rebounds.
Subban in particular has truly grown into the role of the No. 1 defenseman on this team. While he still has a lot to learn and will undoubtedly continue to get better each year, at 21 years of age, you have to be impressed with his incredible poise on the ice.
As for Plekanec, while a lot has been made lately about his lack of offensive production on the road, he continues to take care of things on the defensive side of the puck.
Plekanec was one of the main reasons why the Canucks' vaunted power play only managed two goals last night and, coupled with Travis Moen, he continues to be the Habs' best penalty killer.
3. The Habs owned the defensive slot.
Montreal did an excellent job of boxing out the Vancouver players for most of the night, especially on the power play, and this despite the excellent work by Ryan Kesler to constantly be in Price's face.
Try as they may, the extremely skilled Canucks weren't able to get to the high slot with the puck very often and, as such, the dangerous scoring chances from prime locations were kept to a minimum.
As much as Jacques Martin's system can stifle the offensive instincts of a team, its ability to keep opponents to the outside is truly its crown jewel.
Time and again last night, the Canucks had trouble getting to the front of the net, especially on the power play, where they went 2-for-6 and had no answer for Hal Gill lying down to cut the cross-crease pass.
The Canucks still did a great job of getting bodies in front of and all around Price, but his focus was as unwavering as his desire to win and his strong work, backed up by excellent defense, sealed the deal.
4. Lars Eller needs to play at center.
Eller hasn't exactly been ripping up the league in his inaugural season in Montreal, but he is still a tremendously skilled player, despite what many Habs’ fans are saying.
The thing is that Eller is a natural center and playmaker and for most of the season, he has been playing on the wing. In the few brief stints that we have seen from him at center, he has looked his best and more importantly, most comfortable.
Last night with Jacques Martin juggling his lines, Eller, who has played on the wing with Scott Gomez and Kostitsyn since the All-Star break, found himself centering Kostitsyn and Moen on the fourth line.
At first glance, that might seem like punishment, but with Eller up the middle, a bonafide goal-scorer (Kostitsyn) on his wing, the fourth line was one of the Habs' most effective. They used speed, skill and grit to produce the Habs' second goal—Kostitsyn's first in 12 games and first point in nine.
With Moen digging the puck out of the corners, Eller setting it up and Kostitsyn getting into shooting position, the trio complemented each other very well and helped bring balance to the Canadiens' lineup.
It is amazing how much more you notice Eller's skill and vision when he is playing at center as opposed to wing, so here's hoping Coach Martin leaves him there.
5. Price had his work cut out for him.
Price, like the rest of the team, hasn't played his best hockey of late.
So much so that in his last six games prior to last night, Price had let in 23 goals for an abysmal 3.83 GAA, with only one victory to show for it.
Needless to say, for the Habs to have any chance of defeating the first overall Canucks last night, Price needed to shine.
And shine he did.
While Price wasn't really tested early, the Canucks came to life over the back half of the first and took control in the second. Moreover, as they started to rack up the scoring chances, the Canucks' game plan took shape and its prime component was to crash and crowd Price's crease.
With an almost constant screen in front of him—from players like Kesler—and players crashing around him like waves against the rocks, Price somehow managed to stand his ground.
Fighting through traffic to see the puck, displaying excellent lateral movement and unbelievable puck-tracking abilities, Price was clearly in the zone. After two terrible past experiences in his home province, Price really wanted the win last night and you could see it in his play.
So as much as Quebec-born goalies seem to bring their A-games to the Bell Centre, Price certainly returned the favour to the Canucks last night and is the main reason for the victory.
Standings and Next Game
With the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins both winning last night, the Canadiens could not have picked a better time to halt their losing streak.
The win gives the Habs 71 points in the standings with a 32-22-7 record, good enough for sixth overall in the East. Ahead of Montreal are the Bruins with 75 points and one game in hand, the Penguins with 77 points and the Capitals with 74.
In the rear-view mirror are the Rangers with 68 points and one more game played, the Hurricanes with 65 and the Sabres and Thrashers with 60 each and three and one game in hand respectively.
Montreal, who were only able to salvage two out of a possible six points on this Western road trip, now return to the friendly climes of the Bell Centre for a Thursday night tilt against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
--- Kamal is a freelance Habs writer, Senior Writer/Editor-in-Chief of HabsAddict.com, Montreal Canadiens Blogger on Hockeybuzz.com and Habs writer on TheFranchise.ca. Kamal is also a weekly contributor to the Sunday Shinny on The Team 990 (AM 990) every Sunday from 8 - 9 AM. Listen live at http://www.team990.com/
Two days after getting their heads handed to them against the Calgary Flames in the Heritage Classic, the Habs are in Vancouver to take on the league-leading Canucks tonight.
With the Canadiens on a three-game losing streak and the trade deadline only six days away, the burning question on Habs addicts' minds today is: do I really have to stay up until 1:00 AM Eastern just to watch Montreal lose?
Admit it, that's what's in the back of your mind, isn't it?
Tonight's game is the third and final match on this so far miserable road trip for the Habs, and will once again feature a really hot team versus a really cold team.
Standings
The Canadiens are 4-4-2 over their last 10 games and are on their worst stretch since going 5-8-1 through the month of December. Montreal is 1-4-2 over their last seven games and clearly trending in the wrong direction.
Despite their horrific record of late, the Canadiens somehow remain in sixth place overall in the East with 69 points, as no one behind them in the standings seems to be able to string together victories.
Montreal is three points up on the New York Rangers for seventh, five points up on the Hurricanes for eighth and a full nine points up on the ninth place Sabres.
In fact, aside from the Bruins and Capitals who each have two straight wins, no team in the top-12 of the Eastern conference is on anything more than a one-game streak, helping the Habs to stay in contention.
The playoff picture is much clearer and brighter for the Canucks who with a 38-13-9 record, 85 points in the standings and a 7-3-0 record over their last ten games are the top team in the NHL.
Vancouver holds a five-point lead over the second place (in the West) Red Wings and a whopping 15-point lead over the second place (in the Northwest division) Calgary Flames.
Goaltending
Carey Price, who is 0-for-2 attempts in Vancouver, will be trying to get his first career win against his home province Canucks. After being benched his first time in Vancouver in favour of Jaroslav Halak and getting shelled 7-1 in his second visit, Price will have fire in his belly and be aching to pull out a victory with friends and family in attendance.
The story is almost equally interesting in the other net with Montreal native, Roberto Luongo, getting his 46th start of the season. Luongo is 11-0-3 with a sparkling 1.81 goals-against average in his last 14 home starts to go with the Canucks incredible 21-4-5 home record this season.
To say that the Habs—who have been outscored 8-1 over two games so far on this road trip—have their work cut out for them would be a massive understatement.
Special Teams and Scoring
This is where it gets really ugly for the Canadiens, or at least for their chances of winning tonight.
The Canucks have the No.1 goals-for in the league at 3.3 per game, the No.1 goals-against at 2.3 per game, the No.1 power play at 25.1 percent and the No.4 penalty kill at 85.5 percent.
Talk about a juggernaut!
Montreal, on the other hand, is 25th overall with 2.5 goals-for per game, ninth with 2.5 goals-against per game, ninth with an 18.7 percent power play and seventh with an 84.2 percent PK.
Needless to say, Montreal will be facing a huge defensive challenge and a will need a serious trend reversal from their anemic offense to score on the hermetic Vancouver D.
They would also do well to stay out of the penalty box.
Roster Changes
Despite getting Hal Gill and Michael Cammalleri back in the lineup last game, the Canadiens are still dealing with the losses of Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges, Mathieu Darche and Jaroslav Spacek.
With the team in a tailspin and the offense sputtering, Jacques Martin has taken out his bingo machine and is seemingly picking numbers at random to form his lines. If we go by the lines at yesterday's practice, the Canadiens lineup should look something like this:
Jeff Halpern - Tomas Plekanec - Michael Cammalleri
Max Pacioretty - Scott Gomez - Brian Gionta
Benoit Pouliot - David Desharnais - Ryan White
Travis Moen - Lars Eller - Andrei Kostitsyn
Halpern on the top line at wing, rather than center, is a bit of a head-scratcher considering he has been the Habs' best faceoff man this season. That being said, reuniting Pouliot, Desharnais and White is a solid move as they have been the Habs most consistent line over the last five games or so.
Despite their tremendous success this season, the Canucks have a long litany of injuries including six players on the injury reserve—Andrew Alberts, Keith Ballard, Alexander Edler, Alexandre Bolduc, Rick Rypien and Lee Sweatt.
Defenseman Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard are both skating and could return to the lineup as soon as tonight.
Intangibles
The Canadiens have not won in Vancouver since November 2000 and Carey Price has never won a game in his home province. Both the team and the player will be trying to reverse those trends tonight.
Game time is 10:00 PM Eastern.
New Sunday Shinny
With Nick home sick with strep throat, Gary Whittaker and Kamal Panesar welcome Kevin Mio, online editor of the Montreal Gazette to the Shinny.
Topics include:
-we play the role of GM of the Canadiens, and define the team needs going into the trade deadline
-we evaluate the current level of value that the Canadiens have to offer
-we look ahead to the Heritage Classic game in Calgary
Click play below to listen in (listing time 39:45):
--- Kamal is a freelance Habs writer, Senior Writer/Editor-in-Chief of HabsAddict.com, Montreal Canadiens Blogger on Hockeybuzz.com and Habs writer on TheFranchise.ca. Kamal is also a weekly contributor to the Sunday Shinny on The Team 990 (AM 990) every Sunday from 8 - 9 AM. Listen live at http://www.team990.com/
(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)
The city of Montreal has been buzzing about the Canadiens, recently, and for all of the wrong reasons. While Mike Cammalleri's knee injury - he will not require surgery but will be out for six weeks - has been the talk of the town, it certainly hasn't been the only topic of discussion.
In addition to Cammalleri, the city has been buzzing about whether there was a yelling match between Price and Markov, a few weeks ago, along with thoughts of locker room dissension. Whispers have been spreading about a goaltending controversy as Halak continues to show he is the Habs number one. Stories have been told about Gainey having a deal in place to acquire Vincent Lecavalier, this past summer, in exchange for Plekanec, Price and a prospect.
So with all that has been going on over the last week, and after two dismal performances in Florida and a loss in Ottawa, one would expect the Habs to be blown out of the rink by the mighty Vancouver Canucks last night. That, however, wasn't the script that played out.
Despite missing two of their top-6 forwards - Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn - the Habs demonstrated a strong, balanced attack and managed to win the game with contributions from unlikely heroes.
While the Habs were dominated for large parts of the game - they didn't get their first shot till around the five minute mark of the game - Halak held the fort long enough for their offence to get going.
The Habs opened the scoring at 5:56 of the first period as Pouliot - who was playing on a line with Plekanec and Sergei Kostitsyn - recovered a Sergei Kostitsyn turnover at the blueline. He passed the puck back to SK74 who cut from the right faceoff circle to the high slot and roofed a beauty over a screened Luongo to make it 1-0 for the homeboys.
Three minutes later, after offsetting minors to Bergeron and Hordichuk, Weber - who was paired with Hal Gill - took a tripping penalty to give Canucks a 4-on-3 powerplay. A quick pass from Daniel Sedin to Samuelsson at the point - who drilled it past a screened Halak - tied the game at one.
But the Habs weren't done yet.
With less than two minutes to play in the period, the Habs fourth line scored a rare goal to give the Habs the lead again. With the Canucks backed up in their own end, Darche grabbed the puck in the corner and swept behind the net, throwing the puck out front to a streaking Lapierre who popped it past Luongo for a 2-1 lead.
The Canucks were buzzing again to start the second period, however, and Halak was equal to the task, making two point-blank saves on Daniel Sedin before the period was two minutes old.
As an aside, I have to say that it is a thing of beauty to watch how well the Sedin brothers are synched. They know, almost by some other worldly power, where each other will be on the ice at all times. It is like a dance or a beautiful piece of poetry where everything is in its right place and the world is the way it should be.
After getting their first shot of the second period, again around the six minute mark, the Habs took the play to the Canucks and the game became wide open. The Habs, to the delight and surprise of the crowd, became the aggressors. Plekanec's line, in particular, was causing all kinds of problems for the Canucks all game long.
While the shots were 27-19 for Vancouver after two periods, the Habs led 2-1 and increased their lead to two goals at 9:14 of the third period.
Playing 5-on-5 with offsetting minors to Weber for tripping and Kesler for diving, SK74 zipped around the Canucks net and passed the puck to Plekanec in the slot. Pleky fought off a check to get one, two, three chances and final deposits the puck behind a sprawling Luongo, for his 14th of the season and a 3-1 lead.
There was a key moment in the third as Darche took a four minute high sticking penalty with nine minutes left in game. But the Habs penalty killers were solid and none were better than Halak who shut the door for three of the four minutes.
With about one minute left in the penalty, however, Kesler, standing in front of Halak, deflected the puck off his face, then batted it past Halak with his stick, to make it a one goal game with 5:48 to go.
There was a scary moment for the Habs as Sergei K. went to the dressing room with 1:30 left in the game, favoring his right hand. Fortunately for the Canadiens, SK74 returned a minute or so later, no worse for wear.
With the goalie pulled, the extra attacker on the ice and the Cauncks pressing hard for the tie, Vancouver's Alex Burrows took a goaltender interference penalty giving the Habs a powerplay and sealing the deal.
Final score: Habs 3 - Canucks 2.
Game Notes:
1 - If there were any doubts about Halak, allow me to dispel them: Halak is the Habs number one goaltender and Price is his backup. Or at least that is the way it should be. In stopping 45 of the 47 shots he faced on the evening, Halak again showed why the Habs have to put their playoff hopes in his hands.
The time for playing favorites and trying to give Price a chance are over. With 25 games remaining in the season, Halak should play the lion's share. Halak has shown all season long that he has 'arrived' as a bonafide number one goaltender in this league, while Price still struggles with consistency.
Don't get me wrong, as I still think that Price has a higher potential ceiling than Halak, but he is just not at the same level of development. I have said it many times before and it is a truism that goaltenders don't tend to ripen until they are around 24 to 26 years of age. So people, please, let's stop talking about trading Price. Give him a few years and he'll get there. Squeeze him too hard, and we might watch him raise the cup on another team, in another city!
Getting back to Halak though, there is no question that he is a valuable commodity and IF the Habs make the playoffs, it will be on his back. Unless the Habs fall seriously out of playoff contention, I don't see a scenario where they can afford to trade him or Price until the off season.
For now, Halak's 2.43 goals against average and his sparkling .929 save percentage are the only reasons the Habs are still hovering around the 8th and final playoff spot in the East.
2 - Hello, Sergei Kostitsyn and welcome back! Sergei Kostitsyn was a difference maker tonight and his performance could not have come at a better time. With Cammy out for six weeks, his brother Andrei on the sidelines, and no one not named Pouliot, Plekanec, Gomez or Gionta able to score for the Habs, SK74 picked the perfect time to show up.
Last night, Sergei looked like the player of two seasons ago. The rookie who joined the team mid-season and went on a tear. Every time he was on the ice he was making plays, displaying great moves and was generally a thorn in the Canucks' side.
In a way, all of the injuries might be a blessing in disguise if, as a result, Sergei gets more ice-time and rediscovers the player of two seasons ago that helped the Habs rise to first place in the East.
Along with Halak and Plekanec, SK74 was one of the best players on the ice last night. All night long he made things happen and his line - with Plekanec and Pouliot - looked great together.
Plekanec and Sergei are fast, shifty players and Pouliot used his size to make room for them. The result was a goal and an assist for Sergei, two assists for Pouliot and a goal for Plekanec. If that combination can maintain their level of play, the Habs just might be able to make it through the net six, Cammalleri-less, weeks unscathed.
3 - O'Byrne played his best game in a Habs uniform. Now paired with Andrei Markov, O'Byrne looks like a player coming into his own. While OB struggled mightily last season, his confidence is swelling this year and it shows on the ice. O'Byrne looked solid, last night, poking the puck out of danger on more than one occasion and deflecting and blocking shots all night.
His combination of size and grit make him a great pairing for Markov, much like Komisarek in the past. And, like Komisarek, OB's job is made a lot easier because of Markov. They say that you should never give up on a young defenseman, as the position takes a long time to master at the NHL level. With O'Byrne, the proof seems to be in the pudding, and, like a fine wine, he is getting better with age.
4 - The fourth line scored! Unbelievably, the Habs have generally speaking been getting zero production from the third and fourth lines. Last night, however, Lapierre and Darche combined to create problems for the Vancouver defense. The result was a rare goal for Lapierre - his fourth of the season - who looked like the Lapierre of last season: Fast, shifty, causing problems for the opposition.
5 - Maxwell looked like a nervous rookie for most of the night. He even passed the puck to Gomez on a great scoring chance, in the second, when he should clearly have taken a shot. For most of the game he didn't look comfortable out there and maybe even seemed a little intimidated.
He did, however, start getting better as the game went on and was more noticeable in the second period. Hopefully he can continue to gain confidence and click with Gomez and Gionta as the Habs need two scoring lines in order to have any hope.
Standings and Next Game:
The win pushes Montreal into sole possession of 7th overall in the East with 58 points. They are two points behind Philly - who has three games in hand - and one point ahead of Tampa, Florida and the Rangers who have two, one and zero games in hand, respectively. Just behind that group are the Thrashers with 56 points and two games in hand on Montreal.
The Habs now enjoy one well earned day off before taking on the Bruins in Boston on Wednesday the 3rd. Including last night's 4-1 loss to the Caps, the Bruins have now lost eight games in a row. Incredible but true.
So the Habs should win this one against the Bruins, no? Shouldn't this be a walk in the park versus a reeling opponent? Well, if there's one thing the Habs have shown this season, it is the ability to do exactly the opposite of what you expect from them. I am not saying that this means they will lose against the Bruins. However just because it looks like a game that they should win, it doesn't mean they will!
Jekyll or Hyde? Tune in Wednesday to find out which version of the Canadiens shows up in Boston.
HabsAddict.com - Roz's Rant: Not 'My' Montreal Canadiens
