Pre-game Primer: Habs in Driver's Seat, Will they Trip on their Dog too?

As I took my dog—a cute as a button, 23-pound Cocker Spaniel—for a walk yesterday, everything seemed like it has always been.

The weather was nice, the dog was happy and my back—which up until recently has been giving me tremendous problems due to a herniated disc—was feeling great. The last few months of physiotherapy have done wonders!

So, as the dog started becoming excited, I decided to try out my back by picking up the pace and turning the walk into a run.

Much to my surprise, my back felt great! The dog, seemingly sensing my comfort level, started to increase her speed, and I matched it.

Then, just I was hitting my top running speed she randomly decided to dart from my left to my right, between my legs.

Needless to say, this was a very bad thing for yours truly.

In an effort NOT to step on and crush this little dog, I lifted the foot that I was about to put weight on, almost by instinct. The result was a head first tumble that sent me flying a good six to ten feet across the concrete.

While I don't really remember the fall that much, I do remember falling kind of like a stunt man; rolling with it instead of landing with a thump.

The result was that while I was dazed and injured, I didn't hit my head but am left with a pretty badly sprained wrist, lacerations on my back, elbow and thigh, but am otherwise fine.

So, as I limped back to my house cursing the dog the entire way, my immediate thought was the Montreal Canadiens.

Ummm, ok, well maybe that's a lie. I think my immediate thought was something like "must...get...to...couch. Must...lie...down."

But after that passed, I thought about the Habs and how their 10-4-2 record is the second best in the league since the Olympic break.

I thought about how by winning two games over the weekend, they have put themselves in a favourable position heading into the last week of the 2010 NHL regular season. Now with 86 points in 79 games, the Habs likely need two or three more points to lock down a playoff spot.

Given that they are playing the Islanders tonight, Carolina on Thursday and finishing the season off in Toronto on Saturday, it looks like the Habs should be able to easily qualify for the post season dance. Right?

Likely. But if there is one thing that we have learned from the new hyper-parity NHL, it's that any team can beat any other team on any given day.

So, while the Canadiens shouldn't have too many problems picking up those extra two or three points out of the remaining six that are up for grabs, there is always the possibility that they will trip and fall.

The possibility that their dog will also decide to dart between their legs just when they are feeling good, and take them down too.

The Canadiens would do well to win their game in Long Island tonight. Win tonight—and avoid the proverbial dog—and the Habs make their lives easier. Lose—and trip over their metaphorical beast—and they will start feeling the pressure.

Tune in tonight to see who wins this round of Man vs. Dog.

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5 Keys to Habs' Season - Part 5 - Carey Price

This is part 5 of 5 in this series, and I just want to thank everyone for the feedback and emails! The support and feedback, whether negative or positive, is always appreciated!

So without further ado....

Carey Price
When Carey Price was drafted, 5th overall, in the 2005 NHL entry draft, a lot of people were unsure as to why the Habs grabbed this kid. As good as he was supposed to be, Montreal had Hart and Vezina trophy winning Jose Theodore in nets, and there didn't seem to be any good or convincing reason to draft a goalie. That year, however, Jose showed everyone his true colours, and that was those of a one hit wonder. In that light, the Price pick started to look better and better.

Theodore or not, Price started to show that he was a thorough bred, almost immediately. While cut from the Canadian World Junior team in 2006 - with whispers of him having a bad work ethic - he adjusted his play and attitude and came back to steal the show in 2007 by being named tournament MVP and backstopping Canada to their third straight gold medal. From that point on, Price's rise was meteoric.

From the World Junior Championships, Carey returned to his junior team, the Tri-City Americans. After their season was over, Price immediately joined Montreal's AHL affiliate - the Hamiltion Bulldogs - where he led them to a Calder Cup victory, in the playoffs, and earned himself another MVP award.

There was no question, that Carey Price, the prospect, had arrived.

During the Habs 2007-2008 training camp, Price seemed like a bit of an outside shot at making the team. He seemed good during camp and, more importantly, Gainey seemed intent on seeing him in NHL action. As such, he stayed with the big club as Cristobal Huet's backup. However, by the mid-point of the season, it was clear that he was in the process of pushing Huet out of his job.

When Huet was traded at the deadline, none were too sure if it was the right time or if they should have waited until the summer, before crowning Carey as the starter, in Montreal. But, sure or not, he got the job. After an up and down 1st round series, against Boston, Price, and the Habs, ultimately fell to the Flyers and sailed into the off-season with high hopes for the 2008-2009 season.

Well, without rehashing it all, we all know how disasterous the 2008-2009 NHL season turned out to be for Montreal and for Carey Price. After a great first half of the season, Carey managed only 7 wins through the back nine. His, and the teams collapse, can be summed up when the crowd mocking Price's routine save with applause - during their 1st round sweep by the Bruins - where Price responded with a Patrick Royesque salute to the crowd. Ouch. What a bad, sad, depressing ending to a season that crashed and burned more dramatically than the Hindenburg!

Fast forward to now, September 2009, and the 2009-2010 NHL training camp. Price is saying all the right things and seems to have a much better more grounded attitude. He knows that last year was a disaster, but he also knows that, at 22, he has likely learned some very hard lessons very early. This experience should only help him that much more in the future.

Why he should succeed
Price has shown, to this point in his career, a tremendous ability to bounce back from adversity. When he was cut from the 2006 World Junior Team, people were saying that he had the skills but lacked the work ethic. Well, he came back, in 2007, with an adjusted attitude and work ethic, and stole the show.

During the 2008-2009 NHL season, I believe that Price fell victim to the same mistakes, from his past. Not only was he enjoying life off of the ice a little too much, but he wasn't putting in the time and effort he needed, on it. That, in my opinion, is a recipe for disaster.

While there are a ton of things that have to go right, this year, for Monteal to have successful season, Carey Price is right at the center of it all. He is the key cog in the Habs wheel and as such, this team will only go as far as, or do as well as Carey Price does.

In order for Montreal to have a successful season, Carey has to put up at least 30 wins and play a minimum of 60 games, this season. With Jacques Martin at the helm of a defense first team, and a bulked up, more stable blue line corp in front of him, I believe that Price should have no problem hitting those numbers. The ancillary effect of Prices success will be the redundancy of Jaroslav Halak, who, I believe, will not finish the year in Montreal.

If, however, Price cannot get into a groove this year, and he continues to skid all season long, I believe that will spend the end of the Bob Gainey era in Montreal.

Let's hope that Price thrives and Gainey lives to fight another day. If they do, this is gonna be a fun year to be a Habs fan!

Oh, one last note, on Carey. He has a tell, in the poker sense if the word. The more you see him playing the puck, the better it is for the Habs because he tends to do so when he is on his game and feeling confident. When he is off his game, he tends to retreat to the saftey of his net.

Enjoy the season all!

K.

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5 Keys to Habs’ Season - Part 2 - Tomas Plekanec

So, continuing in my 5 part series on what will (or won't) make the Habs successful this season, I want to start off by replying to one of the comments from my last post. In my previous post, I had said that I define the Habs' success as finishing anywhere between 4th and 8th, in the East. The poster, 'flamminghead', wondered why not 1st, 2nd, or 3rd? Well, the answer is that OF COURSE that would also be seen as a successful season, and a very successful one at that! But, I guess for me, if the Habs finish in the bottom four or five spots, I consider that they have had a successful regular season, given that I am not 100 sure about this line-up yet. If, however, they manage a stellar season and finish in the top 3, that is just gravy!

Ok, on with the show.

Tomas Plekanec
Continuing with the theme of centers, Tomas Plekanec needs to step up his game. During his last four seasons with the Habs, Pleky has played 311 games, went 78 – 106 – 184 for points, and is an overall +20. Not bad. Not bad at all. Especially considering that he was a 3rd round draft choice. Up to, and including two seasons ago, Plekanec had gotten better and better each year.

I remember three seasons ago when it looked like Plekanec was going to be centering a line with Kovalev and Samsanov, and Pleky wasn’t too sure about the entire situation. I remember reading quotes from him that he hoped they didn’t expect him to lead, and that he would be following them and that, generally, he seemed to be lacking confidence and was kind of intimidated by his line mates. That was Pleky’s third year with the Habs and one in which he ended up being one of the biggest surprises on the team, after Christmas. I remember him having one of the strongest finishes of all of the players on the team and he carried that success into the following season.

The following year (2007 – 2008), the Samsanov problem was gone, as he was no longer with the team, and the thinking was that the Canadiens should be better, without that distraction. Well, right out of training camp, Pleky had confidence in his game. He seemed to be over that psychological hump that came from playing on a line with Kovy. He seemed ready to do some damage and maybe have a breakout season. Well, 81 games later, he put up his best showing yet going 29 – 40 – 69 and plus 15 for the year. Not coincidentally, Kovalev put up 84 points for his second best output in his career. But make no mistake, Plekanec’s confidence was the biggest reason for the success of that line.

When the playoff’s swung around, however, Plekanec disappeared. As the big bad Bruins leaned all over the smaller but more skilled, Canadiens players, Plekanec refused to go into the high traffic areas, on the ice. This made him a perimeter player and completely neutralized him - and Andrei Kostitsyn for that matter. The fall from grace, for Plekanec, was highly disappointing to Habs fans, who had such high hopes for the playoffs and for Pleky. But there was no question that he had become a shrinking violet. It was during those playoffs that he was quoted as saying the he was playing like a little girl. While I thought his quote was hilarious, I also thought that it was the sign of someone who was being honest with themselves. Hopefully, Pleky would be able to carry that over to the next season.

Well, the next season – last year – came and went, and while Plekanec remained aware of his shortcomings, he continued to fall short of his capabilities. He was, for most of the season, a perimeter player. He seemed snake bitten, unsure of himself and like a player who was thinking too much. As such, the second line was never able to jell and produce on a regular basis. Tomas took as step back, last year, finishing 20 – 19 – 39 and was a minus player (-9) for the first time in his career. If Plekanec can’t find that consistency and confidence that made him a key cog in the Habs wheel or success, from two seasons ago, this will ultimately end up being another up and down season for Montreal.

Why he should succeed
While Plekanec has scored 20 or more goals in each of the last three seasons, and has played at least 80 games in the past three seasons, he needs to be a more consistent performer for the Habs to be successful. He is currently penciled in as the 2nd line center, behind Gomez. While he lacks the ideal size of an elite NHL center, Plekanec more than makes up for it in speed and skill. He showed, two years ago, that he has the ability to be an elite second line center, in the NHL. In order for Montreal to have a successful season, they need to have the top two lines producing on a regular basis. From where I sit, Plekanec is the key to that second attacking unit. I predict a bounce back for Plekanec, this year. I am not sure what the line-up will look like but would not be surprised to see Cammalleri on his wing. Having a proven finisher like Cammalleri, on Pleky’s wing, should help him get back to the 60 point mark and should help Montreal have a solid season. Now if only Andrei Kostitsyn could get his butt in gear, we’d be laughing. But that's a topic for the next blog.

K.

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The Hockey News predicts Montreal to finish 8th...safe bet?

So The Hockey News website is doing a ranking of where they think all 30 teams will finish this season, from last to first, and in the 8th spot overall – in the East – they have chosen the Montreal Canadiens.
http://www.thehockeynews....son-predictions-No-8.html

Looking at this prediction, I’d have to say that it is tough to argue with and that is largely because I have NO IDEA how this team will fare this year. It seems to reason that the Habs are a playoff caliber team, but who really knows?

With all the changes that have gone on this season, it is almost impossible to say for sure. This could be a team that tears up the standings or falls flat on its face. It really could go either way. However, just looking at the individual players, on paper, and not taking into account chemistry, for a moment, this looks like it should be a playoff bound team. Why? Well, they are bigger and have more offence on the back end, and while smaller on the first line, the rest of the forward squad is actually quite a bit larger. With grinding, fighting players like Moen and fast skilled players like Cammalleri and Gionta, this team should be better than last year. But there is that word again…’should’.

The reality is that hockey, like any team spot, has a ton to do with team chemistry and we only have to look at last year’s Habs team to see a prime example of that. The Habs, last year, had chemistry in spurts but could not maintain cohesion and this, along with injuries and off-ice distractions, ultimately lead to their downfall. Last summer, Montreal looked like a contender, on paper, heading into training camp, but it just didn’t pan out because the team never truly gelled.

As for this year’s team, only time will tell what we have on our hands, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them stumble out of the gates, while they find their footing, and start to come on stronger as the season goes on. That being said, the new additions to our roster are all seasoned veterans that know what it takes to win in this league. Also, a lot of them know each other already, so maybe they will be able to come together quickly. I think the true test of this team will be, as it has been for the last 5 years or so, is what their second line will do. It seems like every year, the Habs have one extremely capable line and one line that goes hot and cold, for most of the season. A few years ago, Higgins, Koivu and Ryder were lighting it up while Kovalev and Plekanec were weighing the team down. The following year, they could barely get a shot on net, resulting in Ryder being let go at the end of the season, while Kovalev was putting up the second best career points total, and Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn were putting up career numbers. This is not a winning formula.

For a team to be a true contender, in this league, they need 1st and 2nd line scoring, on a consistent basis. They also need a solid top-4 D and great goaltending. Without all of those ingredients, chances are that your team just won’t make it very far in the post-season. Looking at Montreal’s current line-up, I don’t think they have what it takes to be a championship team, because there are too many question marks. If the lineup remains unchanged before the start of the season, will the Plekanec line be able to provide consistent secondary scoring? Is Markov, Spacek, Hamrlik and Mara a good enough top four? Will Carey Price redeem himself from a disastrous sophomore season? Who will be the leader on this team? Will Jacques Martin be able to properly cultivate the talented young players on the team?

I don’t know the answers to these questions, but suffice it to say that regardless of the answers, I believe Montreal should be good enough to at least crack the playoff lineup. How high they finish in the standings remains completely in their hands.

K.

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