As many of you may know, HabsAddict and The Franchise hosted a Hockey Party in Montreal this past weekend. Gary Whittaker and Nick Murdocco from TSN 990, our very own Kamal Panesar and former Hab Chris Nilan were amongst the many personalities and fans present at this great event.
Not only was it for a great cause, Team In Training, but it was also a blast to have so many puckheads in one room.
With the rapid progress of technology, it has become increasingly easy to work solely behind bright screens in distant locales. Being able to meet so many insightful individuals and put a face to the many of the names that have become commonplace in the Habs blogosphere was a great pleasure.
Be sure to check out the pictures from the event on our Facebook page and, if you were not there, come have a beer with us next time.
A Few Random Musings
- The Canadiens deserved most of the penalties they took on Saturday night, but being shorthanded more than twice as much as the Rangers was a bit overkill, wasn't it?
- One of the penalties that was a tad perplexing was P.K Subban's unsportsmanlike penalty for giving Henrik Lundqvist a snow shower. No doubt, the gesture was intentional. But, honestly, how often do we see referees hand out a penalty for snowing the netminder? And, after giving the Rangers eight powerplays already, it seems like they could have used a bit more discernment on that one. I'm sure P.K Subban was not being targeted by the officials. Of course not.
- Even with the tremendous gap in powerplay time, the Canadiens and Rangers finished tied at 28 shots a piece. It is always hard to swallow a loss and the lack of discipline was disheartening, but that kind of defensive effort is something that should make the coach smile.
- After winning four of the last five games without Scott Gomez, it is legitimate to question what his role will be upon his return, which seems closer by the day. Living in reality tells us that he will not be sent to Hamilton. If the team continues to be successful, do you make him a healthy scratch? Do you move a current centre to the wing? Or, with Plekanec, Eller and Desharnais performing admirably, do you shift Gomez to the wing?
- Gomez on the wing seems like a decent option. He could exploit his speed and not have as much defensive responsibility as he would as a pivot. Early on in Montreal, Gomez was one of the team's better defensive forwards and was given important responsibilities in that regard, namely considerable time on the penalty kill. Since then, however, his defensive acumen has slipped considerably. Perhaps a move to the wing would permit him to solely focus on finding his offensive groove.
- What do you think? Excluding demotion or trade, how would you handle Gomer's return?
---
Louis is an Associate Editor at HabsAddict.com and an Editor at HabsWorld.net. 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
13 comments:
Good stuff Louis!
As for the Rangers game, well, the Habs were very undisciplined. For sure New York should had gotten called for a few more infractions, but that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.
For me, the worst call was the interference call on Blunden to kick the game off. It was a clean hit (his shoulder into the middle of the Rangers' player's chest), and the player he hit had the puck.
So how exactly is that intereference?
The bottom line is the Montreal has had a discipline problem for too many years now and that kinda thing will catch up to you eventually.
Same deal for Subban...he has a reputation around the league and, unfortunately for him, it's not a very good one. While he certainly drives the opposition crazy I think it is becoming clear that he is no favorite to the refs either.
Too much yapping for a player who isn't exactly having a banner year.
The Gomez issue is a tough and hotly debated one.
I for one think it's time to make him purely a defensive player on the fourth line. He has shown that he can no longer create offense, so let him plug away on the 4th line wing (as you suggested).
Because right now, JM would be insane to take ice time away from DD or Eller to reinsert Gomez...
That being said, don't be surprised if that's EXACTLY what he does...shifting DD to the wing on the third line, dropping Moen to the fourth and sending Blunden to the minors...
Buy him out and take the money they have to pay on the cap hit out of BG's salary. Seriously a buy out
@kamal
I think the call on Blunden was interference because he came off the bench too early and threw a hit. At least that's the interpretation I heard. BS none thE less.
When it comes to Gomez, my guess is that Eller or Gomer plays 3rd line RW but like Captain Lou said, to the minors and then a buyout would be tops in my list
I'm just sorry I couldn't make it on saturday.
@Kamal
The Blunden call was not sterling either, I'll concede that no problem
As for Subban, he does yap too much and he is not endearing himself to the referees. Still, the call on that snow shower confuses me.
Finally, on Gomez, he has shown he cannot create offense, but clearly JM does not trust him defensively anymore.
In 2009-10, he was on the ice an average of 2:02 per game during shorthanded situations. Last year, that average decreased to 0:57 per game.
This season? The coach trusts him with all of two seconds per game on the penalty kill.
In short, it is a conundrum. He does not have the coach's trust defensively, but cannot really generate offence.
Toss him on the wing of one of the top-three lines and pray he finds his game.
@Anonymous
Like I said in my final question, excluding trade/demotion/buy out, how would you handle Gomez's return? Obviously, most of us would like to see him shipped out.
@Bryan
Hope to meet you soon! I'm certain more occasions will arise.
Nice party there guys, too bad I wasn't invited!
@Fred: What? Of course you were invited! I've been talking about the party for almost two months!
On twitter, on FB, I even wrote a bunch of articles mentioning it!
We'll be doing more, likely in Jan so you'll have to come to that one!
I'm just kidding Kamal! I'll see what I can do about January, but the second daughter will only be one-month old!
Kids......whatcha gonna do
@fred: Ah gotcha! And I understand re: kids!
@Kamal
Having one kid changes your life a little bit. Having 2 really changes it. You take things for granted like just watching a movie. When you have 2 its all upside down.
You all crack me up. Just the notion of one kid right now seems utterly terrifying to me!
In my case, one kid is a piece of cake so far, because my daughter is very attentive and calm, but with two daughters I expect a lot of whining, hair pulling and crying in the house lol.
My daughter is completely autonomous. Shell play by herself, brushes her teeth, bathes, pajamas all by herself. Adding the second is a struggle with everything.
Post a Comment