While the score is the nefflwhat will be mentioned in the record books, those in attendance will never forget the image of George Parros being taken off the ice in a stretcher during an incident that took place in the third period. During a fight with Leaf forward Colton Orr his face made direct contact with the ice. Thoughts go out to him and his family as we await news of his status.
A 4-3 loss in the season opener to the rival Maple Leafs may sting in the moment. However, the Canadiens showed many positives in areas that should bring the fans confidence in their club moving forward.
If there is one thing that any Montrealer can attest, the Canadiens never fail in bringing the city together. Before the opening face-off the sell-out crowd was on their feet as the torch was brought out by Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur and passed to Danny Briere before finally making its way through the roster and finishing with Captain Brian Gionta.
Using the momentum generated by pre-game ceremony and the home crowd, the Habs came out flying in the first. Was it the jitters that crept up on them or maybe the early season whistles from the referees? Either way the result showcased a special teams battle between the clubs.
Montreal fell back 1-0 to a goal by James Van Riemsdyk on a 5-3 in the first. Set up by newly extended Phil Kessel, the Leafs power-play made its appearance 7 times in total, this would be the only time the Habs allowed a goal down a man however. The penalty kill played very well for the Canadiens and managed to record a short-handed marker off the stick of Lars Eller.
Eller made quite the season debut posting 2 goals and a helper in the losing effort. Including one late in the third that sparked the team to attempt some late game heroics that ultimately fell short.
Making themselves known were linemates, and sophomore standouts, Alex Galchenyuk and Brandan Gallagher who, respectively, recorded; 2 assists and 1 goal.
For Montreal, the power play did fail to score on 4 opportunities but this should be a testament to the Leafs who played to their high pressure system in their zone incredibly well. Tyler Bozak was even able to catch Andrei Markov off balance by stealing the puck from the veteran and getting a breakaway, scoring short-handed.
Had the goaltenders not been on their game, the outcome could easily have been more lopside for either club. Both goalies made some spectacular saves in key moments. Carey Price made an early season highlight reel and leaving Leaf players wondering how they were unable to finish. He allowed 4 goals on 38 shots. On the other end was James Reimer, while less flashy, kept the puck out of the net numerous times, especially in the final minute holding the game for the Toronto club, he stopped 34 of 37 on the night.
P.K. Subban was noticeable despite being left off of the score sheet his presence was definitely an asset and lead all habs players in with 24:41 TOI . Leading for the Leafs, and the game, was Captain Dion Phaneuf, 27:01 TOI who put up a goal up for the club. While leading their respective teams it can be argued that Subban should find his way onto more ice time moving forward for the Canadiens.
The main criticism of the night should be that the other lines for Montreal were not able to capitalize during their opportunities in the early going. The likes of Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty, who suffered an injury setback but managed to return, need to up their play. They must find their game soon and help their respective lines produce in the coming weeks.
The Habs will take on the Flyers saturday before they go on the road for the next 4 games out in the western conference. It's important to come out of that short stretch with some wins in order to avoid falling into an early season hole in the tough Atlantic division.
Well, there you go folks, the 2011-2012 NHL season has officially started, and boy was the Habs-Leafs game a letdown.
Boring is a kind word to describe the tepid play between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs last night at the Air Canada Center in Toronto.
Montreal dominated but couldn't score. Toronto had a flash of momentum and scored all the goals they'd need. Aside from that, both teams looked flat, disorganized and out of sorts.
Yes, it's only one game and we won't really see the true face of either team until closer to the 20 or 25-game mark, but it was just not a good way to start the season.
The Habs, in particular, were slow, sluggish, lacking energy and cohesion and, overall, looked like they had been drinking too much the night before.
Game Notes
Third line looks good
There was much ado made of Erik Cole starting the year, and last night's game, on the third line with Mathieu Darche and Daviud Desharnais but I don't have a problem with it. Especially while Lars Eller is out of the lineup.
Eller and Andrei Kostitsyn—Kostitsyn played on the top line with Tomas Plekanec and Michael Cammalleri last night—had some decent chemistry together last season. I think that once Eller is ready for game play—which likely won't be until later in November—Coach Martin should reunite them on the third line with David Desharnais on the wing.
I say should because you never know what Martin will do.
For now, however, it looks like he is trying to find offensive balance through his top three lines. So far, he seems to have found it too as none of his lines produced any offense last night.
Balance indeed.
The Habs need another shooter on the powerplay
It's great that P.K. Subban has a blistering shot from the point and can use it on the PP, but what made the Habs man-advantage so effective last season was the combo of Subban and James Wisniewski.
Throw in a little Michael Cammalleri to fill out the umbrella, and the Habs often had three deadly shooters playing on the same wave of the PP last season.
With the departure of Wisniewski to greener pastures, Coach Martin has been using a forward, usually Tomas Plekanec, on the point on the PP. So far the experiment has been pretty ugly.
I like the fact that there are two centers on the powerplay but the Habs are better off with Raphael Diaz or Yannick Weber manning the other point. This would give the Habs two shooting options from the point, forcing defenders to over-commit and opening up seams and players in the process.
With Plekanec on the point, however, everyone knows he is a playmaker and doesn't have much of a shot to speak of. As such, defenders can overplay Subban and eliminate his shot from the equation.
Am I the only one who sees this?
Too many hail mary's
What is it with the Canadiens that they insist on "throwing it out front" more often than not when there is no play, rather than holding on the the puck, getting it back to the point and setting up again.
This has been an unfortunate trait of this team since Jacques "If you don't have a scoring chance, just give the puck to the opposition and get back on defense" Martin took over coaching duties. The Habs quickly surrender the puck in the offensive zone and retreat to a defensive position at the first sign that there's no clear play to make.
Sad.
With the skill on this team it would be something to see what they could do if they were encouraged to attack. Constantly.
Truculence
I know it's only one game but Mike Komisarek actually looked good last night. Like, really good.
In fact, it was his timely hitting that started the Leafs on their only streak of dominance in the game. i.e. the second period.
Perhaps it's the fact that he's once again playing with a skilled defenseman who can insulate him, like when he played with Andrei Markov in Montreal, but Komisarek looked like the Komisarek of old, not the recent Leafs whipping boy.
I realize that his defensive partner, Jake Garinder, isn't Markov and is pretty inexperienced, but he has a good combination of skill and speed that should make him a solid defender on the Leafs for years to come.
Back to Komisarek, he was a hitting machine last night, finishing the night with six body checks and crunching Habs forwards seemingly at will. So once again, it was the small Habs getting knocked around by the bigger [insert name of bigger hockey team here].
Hooray.
Oh good, more injuries
So far this NHL season is starting on the exact same injury-ridden foot as last season.
Along with players such as Markov, Lars Eller, David Desharnias, Scott Gomez, P.K. Subban, who have all missed or continue to miss time due to injury, the Habs newest acquistion, Blar Betts, missed last night's game with a lower body injury. That meant that recently demoted, Andreas Engqvist, was recalled from Hamilton to take his spot.
In addition, the Habs other recent acquisition, Chris Campoli, went down with what looked like a hamstring or groin injury in the second period and did not return for the balance of the game. Damien Cox of the Toronto Sun reported after the game that Campoli had a tendon injury and would miss three weeks.
The injury has yet to be substantiated by the Canadiens, but Campoli was seen walking around on crutches after the match and that's certainly not a good sign.
Quick Hits
Quote of the night - From TSN 990's Tony Marinaro on Twitter: "Hard for a coach to get offense from your club when as a coach you don't practice it, preach it or believe in it."
That's some pure geniosity right there!
Not so good - Rough night for Subban. He finished the night with a minus-two and his play on the Leafs first goal led directly to the 2-on-1 against.
James Reimer - Could he be the difference between a playoff spot and an early golf season for the Leafs? After one game, he certainly looks like it!
Brickwall - Mike Brown went barreling into Andrei Kostitsyn at around the five-minute mark of the first period and bounced off him like raisins off an Oldsmobile. Makes you realize how solid AK46 is on his skates.
No, no, no - I do not like Michael Cammalleri on the penalty kill. It is a waste of ice-time for him. Let him rest during penalty kills and focus on offense, rested, when he gets back on the ice. I know you love defense Jacques, but Cammalleri is known for his offensive and not defensive abilities.
Stop wasting his energy on the PK.
Stat of the night - Mathieu Darche had 1:21 of power play time. Erik Cole has 1:04 of power play time. Now that's some good coaching! Sigh.
Up next - The Habs have a few days off before taking on the Winnipeg Jets in Winnipeg on Sunday. The game will be the Jets inaugural home game as they make their return to the NHL.
--- Kamal is a freelance writer, Senior Writer/Editor-in-Chief of HabsAddict.com and Montreal Canadiens Blogger on Hockeybuzz.com. Kamal is also a weekly contributor to the Sunday Shinny on TSN Radio 990 (AM 990) every Sunday from 9 - 10 AM. Listen live at http://www.tsn.ca/montreal/
by Louis Moustakas With the offseason quietly winding down and summer transactions mostly behind us, it seems like the perfect time to contemplate the moves made by Montreal and its various division rivals. Over five parts, we will take a look at each team and venture a guess at where they will finish in 2011-12. Today, we will analyze one of Montreal’s oldest rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Last season: 37-34-11, 85 points (fourth place Northeast, 10th place East)
Additions: Tim Connolly, C; Philippe Dupuis, C; Cody Franson, D; John-Michael Liles, D; Matthew Lombardi, C;
Subtractions: Tim Brent, C; Alex Foster, F; Jean-Sebastien Giguere, G; Christian Hanson, D; Brett Ledbda, D; Fredrik Sjostrom, W; Danny Richmond, D; Robert Slaney, LW;
A challenging first quarter last year made Toronto’s climb into the post-season a difficult one, but the team showed promise as the campaign wore on. While the Leafs were a pedestrian 8-9-3 after 20 contests, they posted an excellent 8-2-4 record in February. James Reimer was superb in net, going 20-10-5 with a .921 save percentage. Meanwhile, to the displeasure of many Habs fans, former Canadien Miklhail Grabovski continued on his upward trajectory, posting career bests with 29 goals and 29 assists, and Clarke MacArthur was a pleasant surprise last season, contributing 62 points. Nonetheless, those efforts would be for naught as the Leafs missed the spring dance for the sixth straight year.
As expected, Brian Burke was busy in the off-season, adding punch to his attack by acquiring centers Tim Connolly and Matthew Lombardi. Both should prove to be a tremendous help on a team short of skill up the middle. If they remain healthy, their additions could go a long way to making this team worthy of a playoff spot. In reality, though, it almost feels like the Maple Leafs added two players to fill one position, as they would be fortunate to get a combined 82 games out of the oft injured pivots.
And, regardless of that question mark at center, there are many other interrogations concerning the Leafs attack. Can MacArthur and Grabovksi build on their career numbers? Will Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak grow into solid, offensive contributors? What kind of performance will Joffrey Lupul, now on his fourth NHL team, offer? As for the blueline, adding Cody Franson and Jonh-Michael Liles brings an element of scoring to the backend, but it is uncertain if they truly improved defensively over the past year. Subtracting Francois Beauchemin, Tomas Kaberle and Brett Ledba leaves more than a few holes to fill on the back. Improved performances from Mike Komisarek, whose stock has declined precipitously since his departure from Montreal, and Dion Phaneuf would go a long way to filling those gaps. Somehow though, Ron Wilson will have to improve upon his squad’s 19th worst shots against average and 28th ranked penalty kill. James Reimer could certainly help cover up for his teammates if he can continue his outstanding play from late last season, but that may be demanding too much from a 23-year old sophomore.
In the end, the Maple Leafs face far too many questions. Each team enters a new season with its share of uncertainty, but the uncertainty for Toronto permeates each and every position. Will the centers stay healthy? Will the wingers produce? Can the defense improve? Can Reimer continue his solid play? If the answers to the above are favorable, than the Leafs chances of qualifying for the post-season will be significantly buoyed.
If.
Prediction: 4th in the North East.
What do you think? Where will the Leafs finish next season? Can they qualify for the post-season?
---
Louis is an editor at HabsWorld.net and has been writing about Canadiens and NHL hockey since 2009. Louis was born in Chicago but grew up in Quebec City where he earned Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Université Laval. He currently lives in Ottawa and works for the Coaching Association of Canada. He can be reached at l.moustakas@habsworld.net.
Alex Auld is getting the start for tonight. In his one previous match against the Leafs, he was on the losing end of a 3-1 decision in Toronto.
Auld has a 4-2-1 record this season with a 2.26 GAA and a .926 save percentage.
***
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens square off tonight at the Bell Centre in their fifth of six head-to-head matches this season.
The teams have split four contests so far with each team winning two home games and losing two on the road.
Strangely, Toronto has scored exactly three goals in each of their wins while the Habs have shut out the Leafs in both of their victories.
So does that mean that we're in for another Habs shutout win at the Bell Centre tonight?
Standings
The Leafs, who not so long ago seemed destined to again miss the playoffs, have been on fire of late going 7-2-2 over their last 11 games to collect 16 points in the standings.
Their recent push give them 59 points in 60 games leaving them only six points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for eighth overall in the East, with one game in hand.
At the other end of the rink, Montreal is coming off of a massive, confidence building win over the first overall in the league Vancouver Cauncks. Despite the victory, the Habs are at the tail end of a terrible stretch that saw them pick up only two regulation victories over eight games (2-4-2).
Yet somehow the Habs have managed to maintain their sixth overall place in the Eastern conference.
If you look at the standings in the conference that no one seemingly wants to win, no team is on anything more than a one-game winning streak. As such, the Habs up and down play has been mirrored by the same from the other teams and has left their position unchanged.
With 21 games left in their season, Montreal is 32-22-7 with 71 points, three behind the Caps, four behind the Bruins who have one game in hand and seven behind the Pens with one more game played. The Habs have a three-point buffer on the seventh place Rangers, six points on the suddenly struggling Canes and nine on the ninth place Sabres.
Goaltending
Montreal versus Toronto hasn't seen a real goaltending battle since the days of Felix Potvin and Patrick Roy. And with both Leafs starter Jean-Sebastien Giguere and backup Jonas Gustavsson out due to injury and surgery, respectively, you wouldn't expect that to change much tonight.
But a youngster by the name of James Reimer has flipped that theory on its head in recent weeks.
Over 16 games played, Reimer has a 9-4-2 record and is the main reason for the Leafs' recent resurgence. Reimer, who has yet to face the Canadiens, has a brilliant 2.12 GAA and a sparkling .934 save percentage.
It will be interesting to see how the youngster responds to the raucous environment at the Bell Centre.
In Montreal's net, Carey Price continues to play like the MVP of this hockey team. Price will be making his league-leading 55th start of the year while shooting for his second overall 29th win.
Price has a 2.40 GAA and a .920 save percentage to go along with his second overall 28 wins this season.
Special Teams and Scoring
While both teams suffer from scoring anemia—the Leafs are 28th with 2.57 goals-for and the Habs are 25th with 2.53—the rest of the scoring and special teams stats look like a mismatch in Montreal's favour.
Toronto has the 22nd overall goals-against with 2.9 per game, 25th power play at 16 percent and the 26th penalty kill at 28.3 percent. Montreal, on the other hand, has the ninth best goals-against with 2.5 per game, 10th overall power play at 18.6 percent and 10th penalty kill at 83.8 percent.
Considering the Leafs weak PK, tonight might be a prime opportunity for Montreal to get their power play—which has been blanked over the last three games and is 2-for-20 (10 percent) over the last six games—back on track.
Roster Changes and Injuries
The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to be without their first and second string goaltenders: Giguere and Gustavsson. Goaltending and Colton Orr (injury reserve) aside, the Leafs are healthy.
Montreal continues to have a bevy of players on the IR including long-termers Josh Gorges and Andrei Markov. In addition, Jaroslav Spacek and Mathieu Darche continue to be sidelined with no real word on the extent of their injuries.
Expect the Canadiens to go with the same lineup that defeated the Canucks on Tuesday.
Game time is at 7:30 PM.
--- 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 Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)
