Tyger By The Tail: Habs' Observations After 2 Games

There were an awful lot of early exits projected for the Montreal Canadiens by both fans and panelists alike once the Ottawa Senators drew in as their first post-season opponent. Even though we are only two games into the 2015 NHL Playoffs, it’s worth taking a look at what this series has revealed so far.

I’ll admit to having had my pre-conceptions rearranged now that the Habs are holding a 2-0 series lead and the Sens are facing an uphill battle, needing to win the next 4 out of 5. Here are some reasons why, as well as some random food for thought.

Not A One Man Show

The Habs are a formidable team even without Max Pacioretty, PK Subban and a Not-In-God-Mode-Yet Carey Price. With Pacioretty out the first game, Subban ejected for slashing Mark Stone, and Price looking merely solid instead of invincible, the fourth line somehow managed to morph into a top line, much to my chagrin. Torrey Mitchell AND Brian Flynn both scored goals, with Flynn eventually being made first star. Team chemistry, that special brotherhood that makes players fight constantly to step up for each other, is consistently underrated as a playoff advantage and this team has it. Also the Habs have had a lot of post-season experience the past few years and that shows too. Right now they are looking like the better team, outright dominating for long stretches. Following the Game 2 overtime victory Price stated that he didn’t think anyone in the room had panicked and I believe it.

Hamburglar On The Menu

Andrew Hammond is a very good goaltender and there are times he outright stonewalls the Canadiens' forwards, but he is still wet behind the ears and has long stretches where he looks shaky and not at all confident. This is his first post-season show and that is a lot of weight for him to carry after hauling his team almost single-handedly into the playoffs. Had the Stone / Subban drama not overshadowed everything else perhaps more would admit that up until quite recently he has been little more than a mediocre AHL goalie, a fact quite evident throughout Game 1. Meanwhile there’s little doubt that beyond elevating Price to a new level, Stephane Waite has also been watching endless tape looking for holes for the Habs skaters to exploit, which they have. There’s a reason the Chicago Blackhawks' fans griped when Marc Bergevin took Waite away from Corey Crawford and this is why. A good goaltending coach is necessary, but a great one is a linchpin.

Leave The Drama On Broadway

Prior to Game 2 there was an awful lot of Days of our Lives Soap Opera Drama going on between the two teams, their respective fan bases, and most especially the media. A slash is a slash and deserves a penalty, and I get the rule infraction that necessitated the ejection, but if people are going to suggest that a player get supplemental discipline for an injury then maybe there should be an actual injury. Once warmups ended, Mark Stone didn’t just look fine, he played fine, good enough to lead all forwards in ice time through the first period. He finished the night with two assists and logged 18:40 in ice time. Yes, the Senators tried to get PK Subban suspended. It’s a solid strategy and you can’t blame them for trying. What you CAN blame them for is continuing to milk it right up until puck drop. At least show some dignity when your master plan fails. I have no doubt it hurts. I just have no ability whatsoever to sympathize with bullshit. Just play hockey.

Objectivity Means Nothing Anymore

Speaking of just playing hockey, the Ottawa Sun, Chris Neil, the Hockey Night in Canada panelists, the Senators own coach and GM, and absolutely everyone who had access to a microphone seemed to want the Sens to goon it up in Game 2 to retaliate against PK for the non-broken wrist. Off ice if it gets into Montreal’s head then it’s good strategy and excellent for ratings and website hits. On ice it’s suicide and will buy the Senators an early exit. The Habs don’t play that game anymore. They just don’t. On the occasions during the regular season when Montreal has gotten away from their own strategy and lost, they corrected it quite quickly. This is not the easily rattled team that Ottawa bounced after the injury to Lars Eller two years ago. And props to the Senators who realized that it just wasn’t going to work this time and didn’t become so consumed by thoughts of retaliation that they forgot about just playing hard and trying to win.

Blown WAY Out Of Proportion

While I am touching on the media, I really want to know what the hell HNIC thought it was doing during gameplay last night. I tried to watch an NHL playoff game but it kept getting interrupted by Breaking News in the form of medical updates on Mark Stone’s wrist. At one point Stone was just fixing his glove - HIS GLOVE - and this necessitated a two minute exchange (there had already been at least a half dozen prior to that) about the condition of his wrist and how Paul Romanuk and Jason York had suffered similar injuries in the past and how much it hurt and shouldn’t be overlooked as affecting his play and helping to decide this series and so on ad nauseum. By that point Stone had already earned one of his assists and no one was buying it anymore, not even some of the Senators own fans.

When Don Cherry is the voice of reason — he didn’t think Subban should have been suspended — you know that the show has gone off the rails. Unless Romanuk and York have stock in some sort of miracle micro-fracture treatment maybe they could just go ahead and defer to Dr. Recchi on this one, and thankfully he has not yet felt it necessary to weigh in. This is a national broadcaster — THE national broadcaster — for the Stanley Cup playoffs in a country that eats, breathes, sleeps and obsesses about this sport. In the playoffs you guys need to up your game too, not reduce yourselves to TMZ On Ice during gameplay.

Habs Need To Find The Jugular

While the Habs did go 1 for 6 on the power play, the fact is had they lost in overtime there would be a lot more focus on missed opportunities. During Montreal’s first two power plays in the third period there was a glaring lack of urgency and hunger, especially when contrasted with the second period power play which saw Pacioretty tie the game. Yes they were up a goal, but this is not the regular season and they can’t take their foot off the gas and just assume Price will bail them out. The Canadiens have lacked a killer instinct for far too long. If they keep passing on these golden chances and let up it’s going to cost them dearly in the post-season. After watching them go through this all season, why haven’t they learned this vital lesson yet? Instead the power play became a momentum killer, and this is playing with some serious fire during the playoffs.

History Will Always Matter

Outside of Montreal it is hard to explain how incredibly the team’s history still impacts its present and future. After PK Subban got bounced from Game 1, it was Élise Béliveau who calmed the Habs’ best blueliner. The recent, heartfelt losses of Jean Béliveau and Elmer Lach are also fresh and carry weight with not just the fans, but the players themselves. Teams without that sort of history can and do win the Cup all the time but once again, these are the little things that can and do factor into a post-season performance without ever appearing on any scorecard.

So what do you think of the series so far? Is it what about you expected?

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It's Playoff Time...Time To Take A Look Back

This is it. Eighty-two games are in the books. Now, it's a two month sprint to 16 wins. Just to make the playoffs this year was a monumental task, whether you played in the Eastern Conference or the Western Conference. The eighth seeded team in the West, the Winnipeg Jets, needed 99 points to make the playoffs. Things weren't any easier in the East, as Pittsburgh needed 98 points to make the playoffs. That is ridiculous. Every year since the '04-'05 lockout the minimum standard to even make the playoffs has been escalating exponentially. The sad thing, in 2 weeks, 8 of the 16 teams who busted their butts to get to 100 points will be eliminated from the playoffs.

As we get ready to plop down on our sofas to watch some playoff hockey, I would like to take a moment to share some thoughts with you on the 2014-15 season that just wrapped up.

Tanking for Connor McDavid

On the flip side, while the majority of the league excelled this season, a handful of teams, not so subtly, tanked. Edmonton, Toronto, Arizona, Colorado and Buffalo all lost a bunch of games in the hopes of being dead last in the league to better their chance of drafting 1st overall. This year's draft is projected to include at least two potential superstars in Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. The draft lottery determines who will be pick first and the odds of selecting number one overall are greatest if you finish last in the NHL. Quite frankly, I think it's shameful to reward ineptitude. I think that every team should have a chance at the first overall pick, even the Stanley Cup winner. I don't think the odds should be equal either. Back in 2005, the NHL gave everyone the chance to select Sidney Crosby at number one. That year, every team started with three balls in the lottery barrel. A team lost a ball for every playoff appearance in the past 3 seasons or the number one overall pick the previous four years. Buffalo, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers and Columbus had three balls. Anaheim, Atlanta (now Winnipeg), Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Edmonton, LA, Minnesota, Nashville and Phoenix (now Arizona) each had two balls. And the remaining 16 teams each had one ball in play. I believe a similar draft lottery should be in play every season. Any team that makes the playoffs should get one ball and teams that don't make the playoffs should get an extra ball.

One should be cautious about trying to lose anyway. Edmonton provides a sobering example. The Oilers had 3 1st overall picks in a row from 2010-2012, drafting Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov respectively. Again this season, the Oilers have a solid chance of landing the 1st overall pick. The junior hockey league is significantly easier than the NHL. Numerous players have played well at the junior level only to falter in the NHL. Pat Falloon is perhaps the most notable example. His best year was his rookie year, when he notched 59 points, which is solid. If you want to be successful in the NHL you can't just draft the best players year after year. nor, can you buy a championship team with a salary cap in place. Instead, success arises from a combination of solid drafting, good development and recruiting good free agents. Plus, you need a coach/system that gels with the team you have.

Shootouts

Shootouts have been in place to settle tie games that go beyond five minutes of overtime since 2005. You either love shootouts or you hate them. Skilled teams love them. Teams that miss the playoffs by one or two points hate them. The NHL General Managers discussed the issue during their meetings in March. It was forwarded to the competition committee to play 3-on-3 hockey in OT as a way to reduce the number of games decided in the shootout.

In an attempt to reduce the number of shootouts, teams switched ends and there was a dry scrape of the ice, by the Zamboni for the first month and then the ice crew only for the rest of the season. The effort appeared to have little effect. This season, 291 games went beyond regulation time and of those, 173 or 59.4% went to a shootout.

Admittedly, the shootout is not an ideal way to end games but I would take it over a tie game. It would be nice to see more games end before the shootout so I am in favor of some 3 on 3 hockey. There are two proposed formats in play. In one format, teams would start OT 4 on 4 and move to 3 on 3 at the 1st whistle after the 3rd minute. In the second format, OT would be only 3 on 3. I suspect the former will be more likely to be implemented

Goalie Interference

A third hot button issue that came up this season is goalie interference. This has always been a grey area, as often times goalies will flop at any contact to sell a call. My view is the goalie's space is the blue paint and the goalie must have that space. However, I do not think we should go back to 1999 where the Stanley cup was decided on a Brett Hull goal when he had a toe in the blue paint but was not touching the goalie.

At the same time, goalies are not built to take a body check so they must be treated more delicately. In terms of questionable goals, the call should be allowed to be overturned on the basis of interference vs. no interference. I like the idea proposed during the GM meetings where a coach can challenge a call like interference provided the team has a time out.

Five Canadian teams in the Playoffs

Canadian teams overall had great success with five of the seven teams making the playoffs. Toronto and Edmonton were the only teams to miss the playoffs and boy, did they ever. Edmonton's collapse was less surprising given their recent history. Toronto was actually in a playoff position heading into the new year,  then they fired coach Randy Carlyle and the team just gave up. The Leafs won just 5 times after the new year.

Ottawa and Winnipeg snuck in as wildcard seeds and both have potential to do some damage in the playoffs. Their goalies Andrei Pavelec and Andrew Hammond are both on ridiculous hot streaks.

Vancouver is having a bounce back year after missing the playoffs last season. Clearly John Torterella was a bad hire that tried to implement/force upon the Canucks a system that wasn't ideal for their players. They had many injuries last season and their stars, Sedins, Edler and Burrows especially had career low stats and looked awful.

Calgary is a team that is up and coming. They were not expected to make the playoffs and that alone means they should not be taken lightly. Every time the Canucks and Flames have met in round one, the winner has gone on to the cup final.

Will the trend continue? Will we see a Habs-Canucks or Habs-Flames final. Personally, I would love to see the former  match-up as the Canucks and Habs are the two teams I follow most. It's very possible it could happen as the league is wide open this year and every team has weaknesses.


The Habs Season That Was

Montreal had a strong season this year. As mentioned, the bar to even secure a playoff berth was exceptionally high, so it was a massive accomplishment to secure home ice advantage. Do the Habs have concerns heading into the playoffs? Absolutely, but so does virtually every team this year.

Look at Ottawa. Sure, they are riding a hot goalie but Hammond is bound to cool off sometime and the Senators are inexperienced in the playoffs and bound to make mistakes. I thought GM Marc Bergevin made some solid trades this season, getting depth on defense in  Sergei Gonchar and getting rid of bad contracts like Rene Bourque.

Dustin Tokarski held his own as a backup. Carey Price was Carey Price and carried the team on his shoulders numerous times. The Habs must give him more goal support in the post-season or it could be an early exit. I think Montreal will prevail in the opening round but it won't be easy

Buckle up Habs fans. Get your beer and popcorn ready and #GoHabsGo

A Habs fan blogging from BC

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Ottawa Was To Be Avoided By The Canadiens In The First Round

For the last few weeks of the hockey season, I was worried about who the Canadiens were going to play against in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. As I watched the Eastern Conference wild card position take shape, it was assumed that Montreal was going to finish in the top two spots. Ottawa was playing great hockey, and their goalie, Andrew "The Hamburglar" Hammond, was providing some outstanding goaltending. The Senators continued to win night after night, and went from being an after-thought in late January to a serious playoff contender.

Fast forward to Saturday, when the Senators faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the early afternoon, while the Canadiens were to play Toronto later that night. After Ottawa beat the Flyers in the afternoon, a win for the Habs meant facing the Senators.

I don't know about you, but I would much rather have the Habs play Detroit than Ottawa. Montreal has handled the Red Wings this relative easethsi season, while Ottawa has had Montreal's number. Ultimately, the Habs won 4-3 in a shoot out, and now have to face  the Senators in the first round, starting Wednesday, April 16th.

In their brief playoff history, Ottawa has owned the Canadiens. The painful memory of the 2013 playoff match up has many Habs' fans concerned. Personally, I DID NOT want Montreal to face the Senators in the first round. 

What do I think will happen? Well lets examine the results so far:

- Ottawa finished the season on a 22-4-4 run, one of the best in the league. Their goalie, Hammond posted a sparkling .941 save percentage and we thought Price's average was good. What is even more alarming is that Price seemed to be less focused in the last four or five games he played. And his average showed it; he had a poor .895 save percentage in his last half dozen games. Not the way you want to go into the playoffs.

- The Canadiens' leading goal scorer and point leader, Max Pacioretty, may be unavailable to start the series against Ottawa, while the Senators' rookies lit it up and carried the Sens into playoff positioning.  Mark Stone has led the Senators with 26 goals ( +/- 21) and played some outstanding hockey. Mike Hoffman, another great find for Ottawa, has chipped in with 21 goals and a +/- of 16. The Canadiens' rely heavily on goaltender Carey Price to win close games. Ottawa, on the other hand, has scored 238 goals to our 221. Despite a recent scoring spurt by the Habs to end the season, how long can that last without Pacioretty's contributions?

 - Finally, there is the question of team toughness. Every time the Senators play the Canadiens, they seem to get the best of them physically. The Habs lack the nastiness that Ottawa comes to the rink with every game. If Ottawa starts the series and establishes their physical domination early, then some players may be intimidated, as has been the case in the past with forwards David Desharmais and Tomas Plekanec.

For the Canadiens to win the series, they need:

• Carey Price can bring his A+ game
• Offensive contributions from the third and fourth lines.
• The power-play must continue to be 20+% efficient, as they have of late.
• To show some backbone, and not fear the Senators' physicality.

If not, the Habs may find themselves on the golf course after the 5th game. 

What do you think the Habs will do? Do they have it in them to continue past first round? 

 

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Three Possible First Round Playoff Matchups

With eight games remaining on their schedule and the playoffs just around the corner, it's time to look ahead to the possible 1st round match-ups. Currently Montreal leads the NHL with 100 points following last night's overtime loss in Nashville. Very likely, Montreal will be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the Eastern conference. I will look at the three most likely match-ups for Montreal (in no particular order).



Washington Capitals (currently 7th in the Eastern Conference)

So far Montreal has swept the season series with one game left to be played in Montreal on April 2nd.

Why Montreal would win this series

The Habs have more depth in their line-up thanks to the genius moves made by GM Marc Bergevin. Also, Montreal can rely on the experience of shutting down Steven Stamkos, comparable to the monumental task of shutting down Ovechkin. This season, Montreal has seemed hungry to excel in the NHL after going deep in last year's playoffs. I just don't think Washington has the depth to beat Montreal four times.

Why Washington could win this series

One big reason Montreal could fall is the presence of superstar Alex Ovechkin. Ovie has the skill to single-handedly take over a game. There aren't too many players with the kind of impact on a game as Ovechkin. Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and TB's Stamkos are two other players that are game changers. Montreal cannot give Ovechkin any time or space or he will burn them. Another major factor to consider is the man behind the Capitals bench in Barry Trotz. Trotz has a reputation for coaxing a lot out of a little. He's so good with fringe players that he could squeeze water from a stone.

Predicted result: Montreal in 6 games

Boston Bruins (currently in 9th place in the Eastern Conference; one point back of the 2nd WC spot)

This is the second likeliest first round opponent for the Habs. Montreal swept the season series vs. the Bruins. I don't expect this one will end in a sweep. The Bruins are good enough to steal a game or two.

Why Montreal would win this series

Simply put, Montreal matches up very well against the physical Bruins. Also, Boston has an aging stale core. They virtually have the same cast of players that won the 2011 Stanley Cup. Montreal, on the other hand, has a young vibrant roster that should contend for several years. Most of their core players (PK Subban, Carey Price, Tomas Plekanec) are just entering their prime years, I just don't see Boston lasting through a seven game series against Montreal. Oh and Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask has historically struggled against the Habs.

Why Boston could win this series

As mentioned above this will be a very physical series and the physicality will take its toll on the Habs. Maybe Subban might be playing through an injury and that is impacting his effectiveness. Boston might be an older team, but this means they have more experience. Also, one has to be concerned with Montreal's struggles to score. There have been more than a few games this season where the Habs have struggled to score and in the playoffs it's very hard to nurse a one goal lead.

Predicted result: Montreal in 7 games


Ottawa Senators (currently 8th in the Eastern conference)

If the playoffs started today, this is the team Montreal would face. Ottawa won 2 of 3 games vs. Montreal this year. In my opinion, this is the toughest of the potential first round opponents. See below to know the reason why.

Why Montreal would win this series

The biggest advantage Montreal has over Ottawa is playoff experience. Ottawa has not been a playoff team since the 2012-2013 season. They are also a very young team, likely prone to mistakes. Yes, Ottawa is on a hot streak, but eventually they will lose again. To win this series, Montreal must stay out of the box and win the first two games of the series. This will create doubt in the heads of the Senators players.

Why Ottawa could win this series

Ottawa is on a ridiculous hot streak. At one point, they were 14 points out of a playoff position. A lot has to do with the stellar play of rookie goalie Andrew Hammond, aka the "Hamburglar". Hammond has not lost a game in regulation, going 14-0-1 during the streak. There have been countless goalies in history (Ken Dryden, Tim Thomas, and Jonathan Quick) who have gotten hot and carried their teams to the holy grail.

Predicted result: Montreal in 7 games

Two teams I'm glad Montreal won't face in the first round

The two teams are the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres thankfully are in full tank mode and have officially been eliminated from playoff contention. The Sabres and Habs met four times this season with Buffalo taking three of four. Buffalo has the potential to be a dangerous team in the next five years depending on how well they draft and develop their players. Tampa Bay, if you will recall, Montreal swept in the first round last season. However, the Lightning were missing two key pieces. Starting goalie Ben Bishop was out with a major elbow injury and forward Steven Stamkos had only recently returned from a fractured leg. Stamkos was not 100% and wasn't in game shape. This season, both players are back and that has made a massive difference to the Lightning. Should Montreal get past the first round, they will almost certainly face TB at some point in the playoffs, Likely in the EC finals.

Bottom Line

I think Montreal will win the first round, but they can be their own worst enemy. Should the Habs take any one of the Bruins, Senators or Capitals lightly, they will be in tough. The teams that make the NHL playoffs are all capable of doing damage. Montreal must capitalize on their scoring chances, stay out of the penalty box and hope the bounces go their way.

The Habs could also face the Detroit Red Wings in the first round if Tampa Bay wins the division.

Go Habs Go

A Habs fan blogging from BC

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Hockey Day in Canada

Yesterday was special day for two reasons, it was Valentine's day and it was Hockey Day in Canada. This is the day where Canadians come together to watch hockey and to participate in the many activities involving our national sport across our great nation. Yesterday, all seven Canadian NHL teams were in action with six of those teams facing each other. The exception this year is the Winnipeg Jets, who are in Detroit to face the Red Wings. In other games, Ottawa hosted Edmonton, Toronto visited Montreal and in the night game Vancouver was in Calgary to face the Flames. For Canadians, watching hockey on Saturday night is synonymous with Americans watching NFL football on Sundays. It's tradition.

My favorite part of hockey day in Canada, besides watching my three favorite Canadian NHL teams, Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver, is hearing some of the wonderful stories CBC produces to broadcast. These stories profile the exceptional people in hockey who have sacrificed so much to play the game of hockey or to help make it happen for others. Here is an example

As a side note, I was born and raised in the Lower Mainland in Burnaby, a suburb of Vancouver. We don't get enough snow or sustained freezing temperatures so I never experienced skating on an outdoor rink. However, I did attend the 2014 Heritage classic at BC Place stadium where the Canucks hosted the Senators. It was  OK, but BC Place is a football and soccer stadium. It is not built to host hockey games. As such, I was forced to watch the action on the jumbo-tron

The State of the Canadian NHL teams

Despite the Canadian dollar being weak at the moment, Canadian franchises are thriving. Even in Edmonton and Vancouver, where tickets can be bought dirt cheap, fans continue to fill the stadiums. The situation is not nearly as dire as it was in the mid 90's when Quebec City and Winnipeg were relocated to Colorado and Phoenix (Arizona now) respectfully.

In terms of being competitive, the Canadian franchises are doing well as a whole. Four of the seven Canadian teams have a very good chance of making the playoffs in April (Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Calgary). Edmonton and Ottawa will definitely be on the outside looking in and Toronto requires a strong finish to nab one of the two wildcard spots in the East, but they just started clearing house.

A Canadian-based team has not won a Stanley cup since 1993 when your Montreal Canadiens hoisted the trophy. At the moment, Montreal likely represents Canada's best hope of winning the Stanley cup, but by no means will it be an easy task

Canada internationally

Every year Canada participates in international hockey tournaments, including the World Junior hockey tournament, which brings together the best 19 and under hockey players in the world and the Spengler Cup, which is comprised of players playing in the European leagues. Canada always has and always will be able to put together teams that are medal favorites. This is a testament to the fantastic coaches we have and the wonderful hockey programs kids can enroll in. A medal is less of a guarantee on the larger international ice surfaces as, other than the Spengler Cup, players that play in these tournaments played in the smaller rinks of North America the entire hockey season. Still, one can never count a Canadian hockey team out.

The women's game has a little less parity. The two North American teams, Canada and USA dominate the tournaments and the European franchises get routed when they play Canada or USA. It is to the point where the IOC is considering removing women's hockey as an Olympic sport because only Canada and USA have ever competed for a gold medal. No other country has ever come close.

I would like to give a shout-out to all hockey parents reading this blog. Thank you for putting in the countless hours to allow your son or daughter to play hockey.

So enjoy the games this weekend Habs fans and Go Habs Go

A Habs fan blogging from BC

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Pregame Preview: Canadiens at Senators (Game #78)

 
Match Up:

After facing their probable first round opponent on Tuesday, the Canadiens (43-27-7) have their last chance this season to get some revenge on the Senators (32-30-14), their first round opponent last year. The game starts at 7:00 from the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, and airs on RDS and CBC.

This is the fifth and final game between these teams this season. The teams each have a pair of wins but Ottawa has the only regulation win of the series. The last time these teams met the Canadiens set an NHL record when they erased Ottawa's 3 goal lead with under 5 minutes remain to come away with a 5-4 OT victory. PK Subban assist on the 3 third period goals and Francis Bouillon scored the OT winner to put this team in the record books and start the Habs on a streak of 8 wins in 9 games.

What to Watch:

Carey Price made 30 saves in Montreal's 3-1 loss to the Lightning on Tuesday, but it will be Peter Budaj getting the start as the Habs prepare for back-to-back games Friday and Saturday. Brendan Gallagher had the lone goal for the Canadiens in Tampa, he's up to 19 on the season and 40 points.

Erik Karlsson is up to 70 points on the year for the Sens, including 20 goals. That puts Karlsson 13 points ahead of Duncan Keith, second in points for a defenseman, but Keith has a +18 rating compared to Karlsson's -18.

What's at Stake:

With the Lightning losing Thursday against the Flames, the Habs and Bolts are in a dead heat for second place in the Atlantic with 5 games left to play. The Canadiens have the edge over the Lightning in terms of the Regulation and Overtime Win tiebreaker. The Senators aren't mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but they have just 6 games remaining with the eighth place Blue Jackets holding an 9-point lead over the Sens.

Who's Out:

Douglas Murray was handed down a 3-game suspension for his elbow to the head of Michael Kostka in Tuesday's game. Murray joins Josh Gorges (hand), Travis Moen (concussion), Dale Weise (wrist) and Brandon Prust (upper body) on the sidelines.

Bobby Ryan had season ending surgery to repair a sports hernia last week, more or less ending any hope the Senators had of reaching the playoffs. Jason Spezza (lower body) is questionable for Friday's match, he's missed the last 2 games for Ottawa. Jared Cowen (lower body) and Colin Greening (lower body) are out.

What Else:

David Desharnais was nominated as the Canadiens candidate for the Bill Masterton trophy awarded to the player that exemplifies perserverance and dedication to the game. Desharnais was undrafted and began his NHL career at the age of 24, playing 6 games in the 2009-2010 season. Now with 252 NHL games under his belt, Desharnais has 49 goals and 160 points to his credit, keeping his spot on the Habs' top line for a third straight season.

The Question Mark:

We want to hear from you, if the Habs are completely healthy when the playoffs begin, who wouldn't be in your starting lineup for Game 1?

Let us know what you think, leave us a comment or send us a tweet with the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

Be sure to tune into the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show an hour before the puck drop and the Post Game Show 5 minutes after the final siren. Join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

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What a Weekend of Montreal Hockey

Greetings Habs Addicts!

Coming off a horrible west-coast road trip and a deflating loss to the Boston Bruins, things were looking pretty bleak in the eyes of Habs fans. Going into the weekend, Carey Price was still day-to-day with his lower-body injury with no certain return date. Thomas Vanek had yet to score a goal for the Habs. It was certainly looking like another long slump was upcoming.

Then Ottawa happened. Carey Price made his return to the line-up but looked rusty early on. Montreal jumped all over the Senators early on with Daniel Briere scoring in the first minute of the game. The Habs continued to attack the Senators, firing shot after shot and setting up chance after chance, but failed to capitalize on them. Jason Spezza took advantage of an early defensive lapse to score and after out-shooting the Senators 17-4, the game was tied 1-1 after one period.

The second period was a different story, as Montreal backed off as they tend to do and Ottawa out-shot the Habs 16-9. The only goal of the period was scored by Zach Smith on a break-away after another Habs defensive lapse. 2-1 Ottawa after two. The third period was more Ottawa domination, as Ales Hemsky and Clarke MacArthur scored in the first five minutes to extend the Senators lead to 4-1. Brendan Gallagher was on the ice for all four goals against, capping one of his worst performances of the season. Tempers and frustration took over. Brandon Prust squared off with Milan Michalek, earning five minutes for fighting and two minutes for roughing. Shortly after that the Senators Chris Neil got involved with Travis Moen and Dale Weise with all three earning 10 minute misconducts for bad behaviour. This effectively took the entire Habs 4th line out of the game.

With five minutes left in the game, fans started heading to the exit. Boos started to rain down. Then finally the luck began to change. Lars Eller scored his first goal in 25 games to make it a 4-2 game with just under four minutes to go. Brian Gionta followed that up less than two minutes later to make it 4-3. P.K. Subban helped set up both those goals and seemed to finally be unleashed offensively. After a dazzling end-to-end rush by Subban led to a late Hooking penalty on Kyle Turris, Montreal went to the power-play with 1:48 left to play. Coach Michel Therrien promptly pulled goaltender Carey Price to give the Habs a six-on-four advantage. A ballsy move by a coach with nothing to lose in this situation. The gamble paid off as the improbable happened. With 1.9 seconds remaining in the game and in a situation where most defenders would simple shoot the puck on net, P.K. Subban found a wide-open David Desharnais in the slot and rifled a pass to little Davey, who promptly roofed the puck on Robin Lehner as time expired. 3-tenths of a second remained as the puck crossed the goal-line. The Bell Centre erupted as the Habs forced overtime.

Photo Credit: YahooSports.com

In overtime, Montreal kept the pressure on a deflated Ottawa club. Subban had another crowd-lifting end-to-end rush before a scramble in front pushed the puck to a pinching Francis Bouillon, who netted the game winning goal to cap one of the greatest regular-season comebacks in the 104-year history of Montreal hockey. The Habs set an NHL record for most goals in a comeback win with five minutes or less remaining in a game with the 5-4 overtime win.

On a personal note, I was lucky enough to be in attendance at the Bell Centre on Saturday night. I have been fortunate enough to attend many games in the Bell Centre over the years, including multiple Leafs vs Habs match-ups. As the Habs rallied to tie the game, the crowd noise was deafening. I literally had to shout into my girlfriends ear for her to hear anything I said. Only once before have I experienced the arena this loud: When Georges St. Pierre was walking to the Octagon to take on Josh Koscheck at UFC 124 in December of 2010. The atmosphere was incredible and goes to show why the Montreal experience is the greatest in the game.

On Sunday, the Habs travelled to Buffalo to take on the hapless Sabres and I remained in Montreal as a guest of the boys at Montreal Hockey Talk. As a participant on both the pre-game show and the post-game show, I was able to enjoy the game itself from the comforts of their studio lounge. Heading into the game, it was announced that Carey Price would be remaining in Montreal to further rest his ailing knee. Dustin Tokarski was recalled from Hamilton, presumably to back up Peter Budaj. Michel Therrien had other plans, opting to start Tokarski for the second time this season. The move paid off as the youngster made 29-saves in a 2-0 shutout victory over the Sabres. The Habs dominated early on. Dale Weise deflected in the first goal of the game and Brendan Gallagher scored shortly thereafter, making a strong return after his performance the day before against Ottawa. The Habs out-shot the Sabres 26-18 after two periods of play and seemed to rest on their laurels in the third period, seemingly content to protect a two-goal lead. Thomas Vanek failed to score a goal, but played a solid game and had his chances in his return to Buffalo after being traded earlier in the season to the New York Islanders. Overall, it was a boring game to both watch and talk about afterwards but it was a solid performance after an emotional win the day before.

Coming off the disappointing road trip and subsequent defeat to the Bruins, there was no reason for optimism heading into the weekend. The return of Carey Price changed that. Following the two weekend victories, This past Tuesday, the Colorado Avalanche came to town. Patrick Roy, making his first appearance in Montreal behind an NHL bench drew all the headlines, but the Habs spoiled his homecoming. Thomas Vanek finally scored his first goal as a Canadien, then added two-more during the game. The Vanek hat-trick paced the attack as the Habs trounced the Avalanche 6-3. A team seemingly on the brink of a late season collapse have now seemingly re-established themselves as competitors in the East.

My how quickly things can change.


Note: Monday Musings shall return this coming Monday.

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Pregame Preview: Canadiens vs Senators (Game #68)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens (35-25-7) are home to host the Senators (28-25-12) Saturday night at the Bell Centre. The game is set to start at 7:00 and airs on RDS and CBC.

This is the fourth of five matches between the Habs and Sens this season and the last one in Montreal. The last two games between these team have gone to overtime. The Canadiens earned their first win in the season series the last time these teams met, PK Subban scored the OT winner. Tomas Plekanec scored a pair in the 5-4 win, he has just one goal in 19 games since.

What to Watch:

It looks like Michel Therrien will have new line combinations in place for Saturday night. If the lines from Friday's practice hold, Brendan Gallagher will be reunited with Alex Galchenyuk and the struggling Lars Eller, while Thomas Vanek will play alongside Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais. Vanek earned his first point as a Hab in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Bruins, an assist on Desharnais' goal.

After missing much of last season with injury, Erik Karlsson is again the Senators most potent threat with 17 goals and 58 points. Karlsson leads all defensemen in points this season, with 7 more than Duncan Keith in second. Jason Spezza has 6 points in his last two games, which brings him up to 53 points in 60 games played this season.

What's at Stake:

The Canadiens are looking to put an end to their three game losing streak and keep pace with the Maple Leafs and Lightning in the race for second place in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs are three points ahead of the Habs with one more game played, and the Bolts hold a game in hand on the Canadiens and are tied with them in the standings.

Who's Out:

Carey Price (lower body) has yet to play a game since winning Gold in Sochi, but he could be set for a return this weekend, either Saturday against the Sens or Sunday against the Sabres. Josh Gorges (hand) and Michael Bournival (concussion) are still out, though Bournival has been cleared for contact and could be close to a return.

The Senators are missing starting goalie Craig Anderson (shoulder) while Cody Ceci (head) is questionable.

What Else:

The Canadiens are playing their 13th set of back-to-back games this weekend, they head to Buffalo after Saturday's game to face the Sabres on Sunday. Of the 15 games left this season, the Habs will play 8 of them in back-to-back situations. November was the team's busiest month for back-to-back scenarios, they played 4 sets of games on Friday and Saturday night, ending with a modest 4-3-1 record in those situations.

The Question Mark:

We want to hear from you, how satisfied are you with Peter Budaj's performance in Price's absence?

Let us know what you think, leave a comment or send us a tweet by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

Be sure to tune into the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show an hour before the puck drop and the Post Game Show 5 minutes after the final siren. Join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

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Pregame Preview: Canadiens at Senators (Game #48)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens (26-16-5) are in Ottawa Thursday night to take on the Senators (21-18-8) at the Canadian Tire Centre. The game is set to start at 7:30 and can be seen on RDS and TSN.

This is the third of five games between the Habs and Sens, and the Canadiens are still looking for their first win. When these teams met at the beginning of the month, two third period goals helped the Habs force overtime but Clarke MacArthur scored 58 second into OT to give Ottawa the win. Daniel Briere had 2 goals and an assist in the 4-3 loss.

What to Watch:

Max Pacioretty scored his team high 20th goal Tuesday night, he's on pace to beat his career high of 33 goals set in 2011-2012. PK Subban still leads the Habs in points, but he has been shut out since his 4-point night in Dallas 6 games ago. In the 5 games since, Subban has gone -3 with 8 PIM.

Kyle Turris comes into Thursday's match riding a 3-game point streak with 3 goals and an assist in that span. Like the Canadiens, the Senators' top point scorer is also a defenseman. Erik Karlsson leads the way for Ottawa with 10 goals and 43 points.

What's at Stake:

The Canadiens have gone 7-7-2 in their last 16 games, good enough to maintain fourth spot in the Eastern Conference, but they may need to be better down the stretch if they expect to stay ahead of the rest of the Eastern pack. The Senators are among the teams chasing the Habs, they're 7 points back of Montreal and have gone 6-0-1 in their last 7 games.

Who's Out:

The Canadiens are missing Alex Galchenyuk (hand), Ryan White (upper body) and Davis Drewiske (shoulder). David Desharnais missed Tuesday's game with the flu but traveled with the Habs to Ottawa and will be a game time decision Thursday night.

The Senators are without Chris Neil (lower body) which should have Habs fans breathing a sigh of relief. Neil's 6 points in 42 games this season doesn't make him the biggest threat offensively, but he was a major thorn in Montreal's side during last year's playoff meeting.

What Else:

Normally a strength for the Habs, Montreal's power play has been ice cold during their recent stretch of mediocrity. The Canadiens have gone 6-54 in their last 16 games with the man advantage and have been 0 for their last 18. The Senators have been fairly effective against the Habs' power play, they've killed 9 of Montreal's 10 opportunities in the 2 previous games this season.

The Question Mark:

It's time to have your say, is the slumping power play the worst problem affecting the Habs right now or is there a bigger weakness?

Let us know what you think, leave a comment or send us a tweet by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

Be sure to tune into the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show an hour before the puck drop and the Post Game Show 5 minutes after the final siren. Join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

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Pregame Preview: Canadiens vs Senators (Game #43)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens (24-14-4) return home to the Bell Centre Saturday when they play host to the Senators (18-18-7). The puck drops at 7:00 and the game can be seen on RDS and CBC.

This is the second of 5 meetings between the Habs and Sens this season, and the first in Montreal. The Senators won the first match 4-1 despite the Habs scoring the games first goal. Bobby Ryan had a goal and 2 assists for Ottawa.

What to Watch:

PK Subban and Max Pacioretty each had 4-point nights in Dallas. While Subban still leads the team in points, Pacioretty is now second on the team with 25 including 19 goals, despite missing 9 games with injury. Subban is up to 33 points on the season, with 2 goals and 4 assists in the last 2 games.

Bobby Ryan might have the most to prove in Thursday's game, he was left off the Team USA roster when the announcement was made New Year's day. Ryan ha 18 goals on the year, one less than his compatriot Max Pacioretty who was named to the roster.

Like PK Subban, Erik Karlsson leads his team in points with 38 on the season. The Norris Trophy winner from 2011-12 is second in defensive scoring.

What's at Stake:

This is Montreal's first home game of 2014 and their first game in the Bell Centre in two and a half weeks. With 52 points on the year, the Habs are keeping pace with the Lightning and Bruins but are still a step behind both teams.

Who's Out:

The Habs are without, Davis Drewiske (shoulder) and George Parros (concussion). Ryan White left Tuesday's game after a second period fight. Daniel Briere missed the last two games as a healthy scratch.

The Senators are missing Chris Neil (lower body), while Jason Spezza (hip) has missed the last 3 games and is day-to-day.

What Else:

The chase for Gold has heated up with Team USA naming its Olympic roster on New Year's Day. Montreal's Max Pacioretty made the cut but Alex Galchenyuk and Ottawa's Bobby Ryan and Craig Anderson were left off the team. Canada will name it's lineup on Tuesday, Carey Price and PK Subban look likely to make the team, although rumors persist that Subban is a bubble choice. Jason Spezza and Kyle Turris are both long-shots to make the cut, which could leave the Senators without a player on either Team Canada or Team USA. Luckily Erik Karlsson is a pretty safe bet to make Team Sweden.

The Question Mark:

Trade rumors are swirling in Montreal, what type of player do the Habs need most and what can they afford to give up to bring him to the team?

Let us know what you think, leave us a comment below or send us a tweet using the #MTLHockey hashtag.

Be sure to tune into the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show an hour before the puck drop and the Post Game Show 5 minutes after the final siren. Join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

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Habs/Sens Post Game November 7th

Lehner stops Gallagher up close for one of his thirty-three saves

A second period glitch in which the Habs conceited a pair of goals cost the Canadiens the game against their division rival.

It was the first meeting between the two clubs this season since their playoff matchup last season. Taking into consideration the amount of times the gloves were dropped in last year's playoffs. It wasn't farfetched to think this game would have more fights than goals scored, this game did produce its fair share of matching minors but nothing major. Tempers did flare during certain moments throughout the game and this division pairing could soon become a marquee matchup in the Atlantic
The Habs have had good success this season while the Sens are off to a rough start. The Sens looking to get back on track could use this game as a stepping stone in the right direction.

The Senators were very luck to come out of the first period tied with the Habs.
The Canadiens came out of the gate at Canadian Tire Center with all the energy. They were putting the pressure on the home team during the first. Had it not been for Robin Lehner, who was tested much more often than Carey Price, the Sens would have been climbing out of a deep hole early.
Gallagher was in the box twice in the first period. Despite these penalties, the Habs showed a lot of promise. It was clear they were the ones in the drivers seat. Even while up a man, the Sens failed to establish any kind of zone possession, meanwhile the Canadiens were able to generate some odd man rushes short-handed.
On the flip side, the Habs wasted no time scoring on their powerplay opportunity when a shot by Markov was deflected off of Zach Smith, this was the only time the Habs scored on the powerplay finishing one for five.
The lead was short lived, moments later Bobby Ryan scored the tieing goal for the Sens with a wrist shot from the high slot.
Ryan has been riding a hot streak lately as he had 6 points in his last 4 games. Definitely a dangerous player on this Sens team, he added two assists and extended his streak.
One concern in the first for the Canadiens would be their inability to win off the draw, something that stood out as well during the outing against the Blues. they were 16-5 favoring Ottawa in the first and ended up 38-23 by the end of the game.

A 37 second span in the second period in which the Sens scored two goals was the turning point in the game.
The first half of the second period was split between the clubs. The Canadiens were controlling the pace of the game for the most part. The Sens did remain the more physical team, they out-hit the Habs by a 38-20 margin.
The first goal came when a rebound given up by Price failed to be cleared by Markov who put the puck right on the stick of Marc Methot who let go of a wrister in the net.
The third goal was a stoppable shot by Mark Borowiecki, a first in his career, but Price did face a screen that may have caused him to misread the shot. It could of been worse had a following shot a few moments later hit the post.
No momentum was generated in the remainder of the second period. Power-plays for the Canadiens were unsuccessful and a goal was taken back due to a goalie-interference call by Gallagher.
Lehner stood on his head and made all the necessary saves to keep the Sens ahead.

In the third period, neither team was significantly more dominant than the other.
Many players in the NHL will state. Through an 82 game season there are games that you will deserve to win and lose and games you should have lost but won. This game will go down for the Canadiens as one which they should have won but lost. It really was the Canadiens who seemed to be better team at the start.
They did try to crawl their way back into the game but couldn't. Not capitalizing on their power-play opportunities is a big factor in the loss since they could have been able to to get the Habs back in the game. Also playing short-handed during the third behind by a pair of goals is no way to set yourself up for success.

Overall the pace for the Canadiens was quite good, the result will say the Senators played a far superior game, however the fans watching the game will be disappointed to see the outcome was determined by a momentary lapse in play.
In other Habs notes, it's rather puzzling to see that comments have been made about the play of Subban recently. As far as any player goes, he contributed as much as anyone could. He logged over 27 minutes and lead all players with 9 shots. He is always a factor in the oppositions game-plan and while the power-play only scored the one goal it was clear they were marking him the entire time.

The Canadiens will have a few days to forget about this loss. They will be playing their next game against the New York Islanders on home ice Sunday evening.

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NHL 2013-2014 Conference Previews - Atlantic

In his final conference preview, Paolo Mingarelli looks at the Atlantic Conference, where he has an interesting take on where each respective team will finish.

Despite the addition of the Red Wings, Cup Finalist Boston Bruins remain the team to beat. The most entertaining battle in this division will come from the Canadian Content. Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal are all clubs that are entering a phase in their history where it will be time to add the final pieces to establish themselves as legitimate cup contenders as the rival Bruins have done.

BOSTON BRUINS

DETROIT RED WINGS

OTTAWA SENATORS

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

MONTREAL CANADIENS

FLORIDA PANTHERS

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

BUFFALO SABRES

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Emelin Out 6 Months, Habs At The 2013 Awards, Future Of The Canadiens And More...

Good Morning Addicts!

Alexei Emelin tore a ligament in his left knee after bouncing off
of Bruins forwards Milan Lucic in April.

When Alexel Emelin tore a ligment in his left knee after a hit on Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic went wrong in April, it became evident just how important the hard hitting Habs defenseman was to the team. The absence of Emelin created a void on the blue line that no other defender on the Habs could fill.

Andrei Markov's play proved that his age and multiple injuries have caught up with him and his play showed that he was less confident on the ice without the protection of his younger, tougher counterpart. Francis Bouillon is well like in Montreal for his heart and willingness to play a much tougher game than his 5'8" 197 lbs frame should allow. Bouillon however doesn't have the bruising effect that Emelin brings to the ice and so the team's lack of size and toughness once again became a  glaring issue.

News came out earlier this week that Emelin's surgery on Friday will keep the Russian blueliner out for six months. This blow will make Marc Bergevin's summer a little more stessful as he will need to find a way to bolster the back end so the Habs can be competitive at the beginning of next season until Emelin returns.

There is no question that regardless of Emelin's injury the team needed to add some size and toughness. What this news means is that it is all the more important now to make changes in the offseason. Douglas Murray of the Pittsburgh Penguins will be a UFA at season's end, if the Penguis fail to re-sign him perhaps Bergevin will take a shot at him.

Habs And Hockey News

- Last week I posted an article on Michel Therrien's Jack Adam's snub, here's a piece I wrote over at TheHockeyWriters.com focusing on the Canadiens who did recieve nominations and which ones have a chance at bringing home some hardware at the 2013 NHL awards.

- Robert Rice of HabsEyesOnThePrize.com writes up on six Habs who can shape the future of the club.

- Seeing as how it was the Ottawa Senators who eliminated the Habs from the post season, I figured I would post five reasons the Senators were eliminated from NHL.com. Also, how good did every Habs fan feel last night when Brendan Morrow of the Penguins blatantly kicked the puck in the net for the Pens first goal on their way to their 6-2 victory. I have to admit I would've been quite displeased if the referee's were to have disallowed the goal.


(Photo by Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

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Michel Therrien Robbed Of Jack Adams Candidacy

Therrien Left Off Of The Jack Adams Ballot



With Michel Therrien not in the running, expect Paul Maclean
of the Ottawa Senators to take home the Jack adams Trophy.

With P.K. Subban named as a finalist for the Norris Trophy, Brendan Gallagher being considered for the Calder as the league's top rookie and Marc Bergevin being what should be a shoe in for the GM of the year it was expected that Michel Therrien would round up the list of Habs nominees as the coach of the year.

Apparently not.

Bruce Boudreau of the Anaheim Ducks, Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks and Paul "I am the walrus" MacLean of the Ottawa Senators were named as the finalists on Friday for the Jack Adams Trophy as the leagues top coach.

This article is not meant to take away from any of thess bench bosses as they are all deserving of having their work behind the bench recognized.

And Here Are Your Nominees...


Bruce Boudreau, who won the award in 2007-08 with the Washingotn Capitals, worked wonders in Anaheim as he lead the Ducks to the number two seed in the Western conference after having missed the playoffs in 2013. Again, not to take away from his accomplishment but Boudreau had some help along the way from the likes of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan to name a few. Having one of the top lines in the NHL goes a long way in finishing on top and a more than capable one-two punch in goal with Jonas Hiller and Viktor Fasth wouldn't hurt anybody's chances.

It's hard to argue against Joel Quenneville's nomination after watching his troops start the season by earning points in their first 24 games. That's half of the shortened 2013 season. If the Ducks roster shares Boudreau's credit for his success it's hard to imagine the Hawks finishing anywhere other than first overall even if it was a monkey, Rob Ford or Jacques Martin calling the shots.

Quenneville won the award in 1999-2000 with the St. Louis Blues, so there is no argument that he is a capable coach. I just feel that with a team boasting the likes of Jonathan Toewes, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Brent Seasbrook and Duncan Keith as well as Corey Crawford and Ray Emery between the pipes it would be more of a challenge not to finish on top of the league.

Paul Maclean is more than worth of his nomination and will more than likely take home the award. In fact, if Therrien were to be named as a finalist it wouldn't come as a shock if he lost it to MacLean.

The Senators played the majority of their season without their top defenceman in Erik Karlsson, their first line center Jason Spezza and one of the league's top goalies Craig Anderson. The absence of Milan Michalek for 25 games sure didn't help. MacLean however managed to shock the hockey world by leading his injury riddled team to the playoffs as the seventh seed in the Eastern conference.

The Therrien Argument

While it takes more than a stacked roster to find success in the NHL, it seems that finding the success that Therrien managed to get out of his troops with much less to work with than two of the three candidates should've at least earned him a nomination.

The goal here is not to make the Canadiens out to be a group of imcompetant players that would make up the first half of a Mighty Ducks movie before coach Bombay works his magic. The Habs after all do boast one of the league's top defenseman in P.K. Subban. Carey Price played very well in the first three quarters of the season and while Montreal doesn't have the firepower up front to match Chicago or Anaheim, they do have depth and could provide scoring from any line on any given night.

My argument is that Therrien simply had less to work with and with less time. Due to the lockout Therrien was thrown behind the bench of a team that finished 15th in their conference and 28th overall without even having the luxury of a training camp. The lockout came to an end on January sixth and thirteen days later the Habs played their first game.

Therrien had just under two weeks, with no pre-season games, to work with a team that he hadn't coached in ten years. while the lockout effected every player and every coach in the league, MacLean, Boudreau and Quenneville were at least familiar with the teams that were playing for them.

Lars Eller

The most impressive turnaround on the Habs was that of Lars Eller. Before the season was underway, Therrien stated that he was a fan of Lars Eller's and was expecting this year to be a breakout season for the young Dane. After one game, Therrien was not getting the results he wanted and sat Eller for the following two contests. When Eller returned to the ice he never looked back and enjoyed his best season in his young career.

Eller's 30 points were a career high surpassing his previous best of 28 in 2011-12. It should be noted that he reached the 30 point mark despite playing 33 fewer games than he did in the previous year. Eller also brought his +/- from -5 in 2011-12 to a +8 showing that he didn't limit his improvements to only one end of the ice.

The Gally's

While the limited minutes given to the Canadien's top prospects infuriated many fans in Habs nation it didn't seem to stunt their growth as players. Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk each finished third and fifth respectively in rookie scoring, second and sixth in goals scored, fifth and fourth in +/- and yet their average ice time of 13:51 and 12:19 placed them 12th and 24th among rookie forwards with at least ten games played.

In a city that applies too much pressure on any promising prospect and an organization that has mishandled their fair share, Therrien found a way to get the most out of the young stud's without putting the pressure of top line minutes on them. Placing them on a line with a character player and well respected leader in the dressing room in Brandon Prust in the beginning of the season seemed to pay dividends as they gained confidence early on and never looked back.


And The Winner Is...

Paul MacLean.

I will not change my mind in my argument that Therrien was unfairly snubbed of a nomination he deserved. However, even if he was a candidate I wouldn't be too upset if he lost to Paul MacLean after what the Ottawa bench boss managed to pull of this season in the nation's capital.

If the choice was yours, who would be your top three finalists and who would take home the hardware?


(Photo from http://wildlifeanimalz.blogspot.ca/2012/12/Walrus-Wild-Animal.html)

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Now That The Bitterness Has Subsided... (Season Review)

Greetings Habs Addicts!

Its been a few weeks since I was last able to write here, aside from some comments on other posts.  The series against the Ottawa Senators did not go as we all would have hoped. Instead of moving on to the next round, we were soundly beaten in five games, including two 6-1 defeats.  In a season that started strongly, it ended on sour notes. Seemingly from the moment the Habs clinched a playoff berth, they eased off the gas peddle and rolled into the playoffs in neutral.  When they had to hit the gas again, they stalled. And now the magical 2013 season has come to a close.

Today, Marc Bergevin had his season-closing press conference.  Bergevin spoke highly of Brendan Gallagher and PK Subban, voiced his satisfaction in the job Michel Therrien and the rest of the coaching staff did and also backed his struggling goaltender 150%. Bergevin was very impressive, answering all the questions candidly without resorting to notes.  A very engaging press conference to say the least.

Now that the bitterness of the playoff exit has subsided, its time to begin the analysis of what went right and wrong for the Habs.  I will not spend too much time on the playoff exit, as its fresh on our minds and we know what went wrong:  We were drastically outplayed in goal by Craig Anderson.  The Habs managed to out-shoot and out-perform the Senators, only to face a brick wall in the form of Anderson. 


What Went Right?

- The rookies provided a spark.  Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk were not guaranteed roster spots at the start of the season.  Not only did both players stick with the team, they both provided consistent energy and a spark.  Paired up with new acquisition Brandon Prust, the Gally-Gally-Prusty trio helped the team to the fast start they enjoyed at the beginning of the season.  For the year, Gallagher finished with 15 goals, 28 points and a +10 rating in 44 games.  Gallagher was also nominated for the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year. Galchenyuk slumped briefly in the middle of the season before finishing strong. His final total was 9 goals, 27 points and a +14 rating in the full 48 games.

- Defenceman P.K. Subban was a contract holdout at the start of the season.  After signing a two-year pact, he went out and scored 11 goals, 38 points and finished with a +12 rating, while manning the point on the power-play.  He played solid and bought into Therrien's system very quickly.  His performance this year has earned him a nomination for the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenceman.  It also ensures his next contract will put him amongst the highest paid at the position.

- After playing in the KHL during the lockout, veteran Andrei Markov was able to return to playing at a high level.  He managed to play in all 48 games, tallying 10 goals and 30 points.  His defensive play slipped towards the end of the year.  Various reasons could be behind that: age, conditioning after two lost seasons, nagging injuries or the condensed schedule. Losing defensive partner Alexei Emelin seemed to trigger the decline in Markov's performance.

- Backup goaltender Petr Budaj was outstanding in his role.  Budaj filled in admirably when Price missed a few games after a bout with the flu and gave the Habs a spark and a fighting chance to win each game he played in.  His highlight performance was in relief of Carey Price against the Boston Bruins on March 27th. Budaj stopped every shot he faced in overtime and the shootout as the Habs came back to stun the Bruins 6-5 in a battle for first place in the division. Budaj finished the season with an 8-1-1 record, to go along with a 2.21 Goals-Against-Average (GAA) and a .908 save percentage (SV%).  His season earned him a two-year contract extension.

- Also of note, forward Brandon Prust proved to be a bargain after signing with the Habs during the off-season.  Prust brought leadership, grit and an unexpected scoring punch to go along with his actual punch. Something the Habs sorely lacked up from.  Prusty finished the year with 5 goals, 14 points, 100 penalty minutes and a very surprising +11 rating. I posted about Prust earlier this season as being exactly what the Habs needed.  Prust also received the Jacques Beauchamp/Molson Cup trophy as the Habs unheralded MVP.  Forward Lars Eller had a breakout season, continuing his trend of improving his points-per-game ratio.  Until he had his face smashed in during the playoffs, Eller was a force as the second-line center and finished the regular season with 8 goals, 30 points and a +8 rating in 46 games. Youngsters Jarred Tinordi, Nathan Beaulieu and Greg Pateryn all held their own as call-ups following the injuries to Rafael Diaz and Emelin.  Tinordi was especially solid providing a physical presence in the playoff series against the Ottawa Senators.


What Went Wrong?

- Up front, Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais failed to carry on the success they had in 2011/12.  Linemate Eric Cole underperformed and was eventually dumped on the Dallas Stars in a trade that reunited Michael Ryder with the team he broke into the NHL with. While the traded can be viewed as a success (Ryder had 10 goals, 21 points in 27 games as a Hab) and also helped by freeing up salary-cap room for next season, Desharnais failed to perform after signing a 4-year contract extension.  Desharnais followed up his 60-point breakout season with a lousy 10 goals, 28 points in 48 games.  He was seemingly invisible most nights, both on the ice and on the score sheet.  One might consider that extension the first bad move of Bergevin's tenure.  Pacioretty did lead the team in scoring, with 15 goals, 39 points in 44 games but did not have the same crease-crashing ability he displayed last year, instead developed into a perimeter player.

- In goal, Carey Price started off the season very strong and was in the early talk for the Vezina Trophy before tailing off towards the end.  He was pulled in back to back games late in the season and while he did have a stellar 21-13-4 record, his 2.59 GAA and .905 SV% did not rank in the top-25 at the position.  Price did nothing to silence his critics in the playoffs, finishing the Ottawa series with a 1-2 record to go along with a 3.26 GAA and .894 SV%.  Price was also injured late in game 4, leaving a tied game that Ottawa eventually won. After signing a 6-year, 39 million dollar extension, more was expected from the franchise netminder.  Price also opened up the debate as to whether or not he wishes to remain a Hab in his post-season remarks about the pressure of the Montreal market.

- Injuries to key contributors were a challenge the Habs faced this season.  Both Rene Bourque and Rafael Diaz missed significant time with concussions and forced the Habs to juggle the lineup.  Bourque contributed 7 goals, 13 pts in 27 games and Diaz added 1 goal and 14 points in his 23 games played. Defenceman Alexei Emelin was leading the team in hits and providing a solid physical presence on the blue-line before suffering a horrible knee injury in an April game against the Boston Bruins.  Emelin suffered a torn ACL and his status for the start of the 2013/14 season is in question.

- Forwards Travis Moen, Colby Armstrong and Ryan White were supposed to provide a physical presence and bring some size to the lineup.  Both Moen and Armstrong were disappointments, contributing 6 and 5 points, respectively. Moen did so in 45 games; Armstrong 37 games.  White did provide a physical presence, but poor decision making and an inability early on to keep his emotions in check earned him a spot in Therrien's doghouse and costly penalties hurt the Habs games against the Ottawa Senators and the Buffalo Sabres.  Tomas Kaberle and Yannick Weber spent most of their seasons in the press-box as healthy scratches and neither seems to have a future with the organization.  Kaberle should be the Habs second amnesty buy-out after Scott Gomez was waived-goodbye prior to the start of the season.


Overall, the Canadiens as a team finished second in the Eastern Conference and won the North-East division with a 29-14-5 record, good for 63 points.  Coming off a dismal 15th play finish in the East last year and expected only to challenge for a playoff spot by most critics and hockey experts leading up to the season, the Habs surprised everyone.  Marc Bergevin's regime reignited the passion that was lacking, both on the ice and in the stands after last season and the 'No Excuses' motto came to define the squad.  With all the positives to build on, and a strong farm system to feed off of, Bergevin has the team in a good position to become a force in the NHL.  With 6 draft picks in the first 3 rounds of what is expected to be a very deep NHL entry draft, the future looks even brighter.  Even after losing in the first round to the 'underdog' Ottawa Senators, the 2013 season can only be looked at as a success.

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NHL Officials Allowed Too Much Gray

Not only did the Canadiens got jobbed on the goal by Mika Zibinijad in Game 4 versus the Ottawa Senators last night, but I also believe the tying goal by Corey Conacher was just as suspect.

I understand entirely that any reviewed goal is subject to the call made on the ice, and the interpretation by the video review judges in the war room in Toronto, and completely respect the complexity of each individual situation. I do not, however, understand how a professional sports league can function knowing full well that their rules are subject to constant scrutiny.

The Senators' rookie (for those of you who haven't seen it a million times), scored a questionable goal off his skate in the third period last night to get Ottawa within a goal of the Canadiens. The pass, made by Sens' perennial pest Chris Neal, came off the shaft of Jarred Tinordi's stick and then made contact with Zibinijad's skate.

Many think the fact that the puck deflected off Tinordi was the principle reason the goal was allowed are dead wrong.


NHL Rule 49.2 - Goals

Puck directed or batted into the net by a hand or foot. 

With the use of a foot/skate, was a distinct kicking motion evident? If so, the apparent goal must be disallowed. 

A DISTINCT KICKING MOTION is one which, with a pendulum motion, the player propels the puck with his skate into the net. 

If the Video Goal Judge determines that it was put into the net by an attacking player using a distinct kicking motion, it must be ruled NO GOAL. This would also be true even if the puck, after being kicked, deflects off any other player of either team and then into the net. This is still NO GOAL. 

A puck that deflects into the net off an attacking player’s skate who does not use a distinct kicking motion is a legitimate goal. A puck that is directed into the net by an attacking player’s skate shall be a legitimate goal as long as no distinct kicking motion is evident. 

(i) A kicked puck that deflects off the body of any player of either team (including the goalkeeper) shall be ruled no goal.

(ii) A kicked puck that deflects off the stick of any player (excluding the goalkeeper’s stick) shall be ruled a good goal.

(iii)   A goal will be allowed when an attacking player kicks the puck and the puck deflects off his own stick and then into the net.

The argument is the actual definition of a distinct kicking motion. A pendulum motion requires a player pull their foot back, then thrust forward. On that premise, the Zibinijad goal is allowable. Since when does someone have to pull their foot back to kick forwards?

But this isn't soccer, right? Why are players allowed to score off their skate to begin with. From inception, hockey was designed to be played with a stick. As long as a rule allows for players to score off their feet, the debate will continue to rage on.

A simple adjustment to the rule would clear the air and eliminate the gray. In my own wording, it would read:

A puck that deflects of the hands/feet of a opposing player immediately prior crossing the goal shall be ruled NO GOAL.

If you eliminate goals that can be scored off a player's extremities, the debate is done...PERIOD!!!

On the Conacher goal, both on-ice official missed Kyle Turris applying a chicken wing on Carey Price's goal stick just prior to the goal being scored.

Rule 69.3 - Contact Inside the Goal Crease 

If an attacking player initiates contact with a goalkeeper, incidental or otherwise, while the goalkeeper is in his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.

If a goalkeeper, in the act of establishing his position within his goal crease, initiates contact with an attacking player who is in the goal crease, and this results in an impairment of the goalkeeper’s ability to defend his goal, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.

If, after any contact by a goalkeeper who is attempting to establish position in his goal crease, the attacking player does not immediately vacate his current position in the goal crease (i.e. give ground to the goalkeeper), and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed. In all such cases, whether or not a goal is scored, the attacking player will receive a minor penalty for goalkeeper interference.

If an attacking player establishes a significant position within the goal crease, so as to obstruct the goalkeeper’s vision and impair his ability to defend his goal, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.

For this purpose, a player “establishes a significant position within the crease” when, in the Referee’s judgment, his body, or a substantial portion thereof, is within the goal crease for more than an instantaneous period of time.

Not only does Turris impede Price's ability to make the necessary save, but, in my humble opinion as a former goaltender, he is the principle reason why the Canadiens' netminder got hurt on the play. Price's over-extension and inability to push off while having his stick held was obvious.

We've seen Brandon Prust get called for lesser infraction against Senators' goalie, Craig Anderson, in this series alone. Because Price was more preoccupied with stopping the puck than embellishing the contact, does that make it less of a goalie interference penalty?

NHL on-ice officials wore gray shirts back in the day. Maybe they should swap their stripes for those jerseys again, so at least the players and coaches can be reminded about where they stand.

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