After a disastrous Game 3, the Canadiens will look to bounce
back Tuesday when they face the Senators for the second time in Ottawa. The
game is set to start at 7:00 and can be seen on RDS and CBC.
The Habs and Sens combined for 236 penalty minutes in Game
3, including 152 minutes doled out during a brawl that saw five Habs square off
with five Sens at around the 7 minute mark in the third. For a series between
two teams that didn’t have much of a rivalry going into it, things have
certainly gotten heated. It looks like the series will continue the same way,
both teams have a serious hate on for each other and it doesn’t look like that will
change anytime soon.
What to Watch: Carey Price had a rough night on Sunday, allowing 6 goals on
30 shots. Price was left in nets throughout the third period despite having to
backstop a team that had clearly given up on the game.
Down 4-1 in the third the Habs were clearly frustrated which
resulted in an all out brawl moments after the fourth Sens goal. The Habs will
need to get their emotions under control, which won’t be easy considering Paul
MacLean’s decision to call a timeout with 17 seconds left in a game that was
essentially over.
Ottawa rookie Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored his first playoff
goal on Sunday, and then followed it up with his second and his third. Pageau
also became yet another played to lose a tooth in this series, joining Craig
Anderson and Carey Price in that department.
What’s at Stake: The Canadiens aren’t in do or die territory just yet, but a
loss on Tuesday would give the Senators a real chokehold on the series. If the
Habs can manage a win in Ottawa, they’ll not only even up the series, they’ll
regain home ice advantage in the process.
Who’s Out:
The Habs are missing Lars Eller (head) and Alexei Emelin
(knee). Brian Gionta and Max Pacioretty both missed Game 2 but were back in
action Sunday.
Patrick Wiercioch left Game 3 with a lower body injury and
won’t be back for Tuesday’s match. Eric Gryba will likely fill in for Wiercioch
now that his suspension is over. Jason Spezza (back) is also out.
What Else:
The Calder Trophy nominees were announced on Monday and
Brendan Gallagher got a nod along with Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau and
Chicago’s Brandon Saad. The nomination could be the first of many for the Habs,
with PK Subban a likely candidate for the Norris, Michel Therrien for the Jack
Adams and Andrei Markov who could very well be the second straight Canadien to
win the Masterton Trophy.
The Question Mark:
After Sunday’s undisciplined loss, if you were coaching the
Habs what would your message to the team be before Game 4?
Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below or tell
us on Twitter by 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.
With Montreal firmly entrenched at 28th overall, there is increasingly less excitement in watching their contests as the season dwindles.
In Ottawa, however, they are certainly making things interesting. Seemingly guaranteed of a playoff spot, a recent spell of four losses in five games has put that berth in jeopardy - albeit only a little.
The Senators are currently four points ahead of the Buffalo Sabres, who currently own the ninth position in the East.
Another loss to Montreal, against whom Ottawa has somehow struggled this season, would make their grip on a post-season spot even more tenuous.
Interesting times in OTT. Not so much in MTL.
Contest
Courtesy of Animalerie Little Bear, we have two free tickets to give away for the Montreal - Tampa Bay contest at the Bell Centre on April 4th.
To have a chance at winning these tickets, all you need to do is 'like' our Facebook page before March 30th 2012. Please note that to obtain your winnings, you will need to pick up the tickets at Animalerie Little Bear.
Hope you're enjoying your weekend more than the Habs are. Yes, they've been playing better of late, much to the chagrin of fans wanting them to draft high. But they still tend more to the losing side than anything else.
I know fans are probably blaming their favorite ref since Kerry Fraser (Chris Lee) this morning, but, as Coach Cunneyworth pointed out, the Habs were architects of their own demise against the Sens.
The good news? At least Boston is no longer is first overall in the Northeast!
If you're living in Montreal you're probably still digging out from a major snow storm, the first of this winter season. But yesterday wasn't the first storm for the Habs this season.
As the dust settles on the Cammalleri-Bourque trade both teams start to settle into their new realities. While neither currently occupy a playoff spot, the Flames are only a three points out.
The Habs? Nine.
Doable, but highly unlikely. What's more likely is that we'll see more movement from GM Pierre Gauthier over the next 45 days or so, leading up to the trade deadline.
The trade aside, there is still hockey to be played and the Habs face the surprising Sens tonight in Montreal. This is the first of a rare weekend back-to-back for the Habs, as they take on the even hotter Rangers on Sunday.
Tough weekend and one in which I don't expect more than one point in the standings. But you never know!
Last night's matchup between the Montreal Canadiens was a game between two red-hot teams.
The Habs were riding a three-game winning streak while the Sens were 6-4-0 in their previous 10 games.
Fortunately for Montreal, they played a "perfect" road game last night, especially in the first 40 minutes. The Habs patiently waited for their chances while shutting down the opposition.
Moreover, Montreal took the play to the Sens for the first 40 minutes before falling into the predictable third period shutdown mode—Montreal outshot Ottawa 22-18 through 40 minutes but managed only four shots in the third.
Carey Price continued his excellent play, turning aside 33 shots for his fourth win of the season.
The win moves Montreal the to .500 mark for the first time this season and pushes their streak to four straight wins. The Habs are now 5-5-2 on the season with 12 points, good enough for 11th overall in the East.
Final Score: Habs 2 - Senators 1
Game Notes
Erik Cole turned this team around - Much maligned for having a slow start, the Habs prized offseason acquisition is finally starting to play like a star.
Since assistant coach Perry Pearn was fired, Cole has been getting much more ice time. In addition, he has been playing a lot on the power play.
More importantly, however, there was one key shift by Cole in the second period against the Flyers that started the Habs recent streak.
Montreal came out flat in the first against the Flyers, and with the second looking pretty much the same way, Cole changed the tone.
Grabbing the puck near the Habs bench, Cole drove straight to the Flyers net, fighting through defenders, knocking people over and getting a shot on net.
While he didn't score on the play, his determination seemed to be contagious.
On the next shift, Max Pacioretty did the same exact same thing and the result was that the Flyers were suddenly on their heels. Shortly after those two shifts, Andrei Kostitsyn got on the board and the Habs never looked back.
Over the first nine games of the season, Cole had two points (1 G, 1A), a minus-4 rating and 15 shots on goal. Since then, the Habs have won four straight and Cole has three points (2G, 1A), a plus-2 rating and 19 shots on goal.
Wunderbar!
Andrei the Giant - So how does everyone feel about Andrei Kostitsyn now?
He and centerman Lars Eller have got to be the two biggest revelations of this still young season for Montreal. With Eller looking more and more confident each game, the chemistry between the two is undeniable.
Last night, after picking up a Sens' D-zone turnover, Eller skated in on Craig Anderson, did a deke then shuffled a short backhander to Kostitsyn for a goal into the empty cage.
It was a beautiful play by Eller and the fourth goal of the season for Kostitsyn. That ties him for the lead in goals with Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty.
In addition, with eight points(4G, 4A) Kostitsyn is one off of the team lead.
To me, that say that the Habs actually have three capable scoring lines for the first time in, well, a long time.
P.K. Subban is having a sophomore slump - Let's face it, it's time to say that Subban is just not playing well and is, in all likelihood, suffering through a sophomore slump.
Through 12 games Subban finds himself with only three assists and a minus-4 rating while racking up a team-leading 23 penalty minutes.
More importantly, he is not making smart decisions on the ice with the perfect example was on the Sens loan goal last night.
Erik Condra was carrying the puck down the wing on a 2-on-1 with Zack Smith with Subban back as the lone defender. But, for some reason, Subban left his position as the last man back to hit Condra.
Condra just dished the puck to Smith who put a bit of a softie past Carey Price.
But why was Subban going for a hit on the puck carrier rather than giving him the shot and cutting off the pass? I mean that's textbook 2-on-1 defensive play.
Plays like that show that he is just not thinking the game right, and as a result he's making a lot of mistakes.
And Subban has to get his lazy tripping, slashing, interference penalties under control. Last year he led the team in penalty minutes with 124 in 77 games.
Right now he's on pace to top that total with 157 for the season and most are of the slashing, holding and other lazy penalty variety.
Up Next - The Habs are right back at it tonight as they take on the Rangers in New York. This will be Sean Avery's first game back in the Rangers' lineup and he is sure to be a thorn in the Habs side all night.
You could win hockey tickets, an authentic Carey Price or P.K. Subban jersey, gift certificates to restaurants and more!
Plus, former Habs enforcer Chris "Knuckles" Nilan is going to be in the house. He'll be giving his take on the game in between periods as well as talking hockey with whoever is around.
Make sure to get there early to reserve a seat as we're expecting a sell out! So come on by tonight, it's going to be a great evening!
Questions for Corson
On a final note, we are having Shayne Corson on the Sunday Shinny this Sunday at 9 AM.
As such, I wanted to ask what YOU would ask him. If you come up with a good question or two I'll ask him for you.
So, given the state of the league and how the NHL has changed since Corson's days, what would you ask him?
--- Kamal is a freelance writer, Senior Writer/Editor-in-Chief of HabsAddict.com and Montreal Canadiens Blogger on Hockeybuzz.com. Kamal is also a weekly contributor to the Sunday Shinny on TSN Radio 990 (AM 990) every Sunday from 9 - 10 AM. Listen live at http://www.tsn.ca/montreal/
The Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators faced off last night in a match whose outcome would not significantly affect the standings.
With the Senators already eliminated from playoff contention and the Habs clinching their post-season spot on Tuesday, there wasn't a huge motivation for either team to win.
In addition, the Sens had a bevy of players called up from Binghamton, their AHL affiliate, meaning their skill level left much to be desired.
As such, you would think it would be an easy victory for Montreal. However they fell into the trap of playing down to their opponent's skill level.
The result was, well, a mostly lame match. Not a lot happening either way, not a lot of great scoring chances and little to cheer about for either fan base.
For Montreal, it wasn't that they played poorly, but more that they lacked intensity. Their effort was disappointing given the strength of their play against the Blackhawks the other night.
But I guess a letdown of sorts was to be expected after the high of their win over Chicago.
Montreal opened the scoring at 13:12 of the second period when Brian Gionta potted the rebound off a Mathieu Darche deflection. Jason Spezza got that one back only 36 seconds into the third, before Bobby Butler put the Sens ahead with less than three minutes to play.
Before the Butler goal, the teams looked content to go to overtime and put one point in the bank. Neither squad seemed to be pushing for the win in any way.
However after the Butler goal, the Canadiens suddenly woke up.
With Alex Auld on the bench for the extra attacker, Andrei Kostitsyn found Michael Cammalleri on the side of the net. Cammalleri stopped the puck and roofed it over Anderson, tying it at two with eight seconds to play.
The goal sent the game to overtime where Filip Kuba fired a bullet past Auld 1:16 in to seal the deal.
Final score: Sens 3 - Habs 2
Habs scorers: Brian Gionta (27), Mike Cammalleri (19)
Sens scorers: Jason Spezza (21), Bobby Butler (9), Filip Kuba (2)
Three stars: 1. Bobby Butler, 2. Jason Spezza, 3. Filip Kuba
Game Notes
Scott Gomez has been playing better but he's got to shoot more
Early in the second period there was a play that epitomized Gomez's offensive woes.
Breaking into the Sens zone in a criss-cross pattern with Gionta and Darche, Gomez got a drop pass from the captain three feet inside the blueline. In front of Gomez was nothing but open ice and a clear path to the net.
The right play would have been to take two strides towards the net and shoot the puck. Especially considering that Mathieu Darche was headed straight towards the blue paint.
Instead, Gomez stopped skating, coasted and looked like he didn't know what to do.
As a result, the Sens' defender caught up to Gomez, angling him to the side, and forcing a weak backhander from a bad angle.
Gomez seems to have a mental block with shooting and that is a huge reason for his drop in production.
CBC showed Gomez's shots on goal stats since 2006, last night, and they don't paint a pretty picture:
248 (2006-2007), 242 (2007-2008), 271 (2008-2009), 180 (2009-2010), 152 (so far this season).
In case you're wondering, his goal totals for those years were 13, 16, 16, 12 and seven this year.
Gomez's refusal to shoot the puck has made him into a one dimensional offensive player. Pass, pass, pass. That's all he's good for. As such, he is an easy player to defend against because you know he's always going to look for the pass.
No wonder he only have 37 points (7G, 30A), a career low, this season!
Alex Auld did what he had to do
Both goaltenders were solid last night despite having relatively easy outings.
But with two of the lowest scoring teams in the league facing off, perhaps it's not surprising that the netminders looked so good!
Still, Auld was playing for the first time in eight games and while he didn't have an extremely difficult night, he was solid when he needed to be, flashing the glove and making a few nice pad saves.
Auld finished the night with 29 saves on 32 shots.
What's Lars Eller supposed to do?
I have to admit that I was surprised when certain analysts started taking shots at Eller after the Habs last game.
Well, maybe they weren't taking shots but they were certainly talking about how his play has slumped recently.
Of course it has, he's not longer playing with offensive players.
There was a stretch between mid-February and mid-March where Eller had eight points (4G, 4A) over 12 games, while playing alongside Kostitsyn and Travis Moen.
In the last ten or so games, however, with the Habs slumping Eller has been playing with a revolving door of linemates.
With Moen getting shifted to the Gomez line and Andrei Kostitsyn finding his way into the top-six, Eller was stripped of the two players who best complement his skill set.
Last night he showed a few flashes of strong play but flanked by Tom Pyatt and Yannick Weber, what exactly is he expected to do?
Eller, more than any other player in the bottom-six, has shown that he needs to play with skilled players in order to be effective. Until he does, I don't expect that he'll be able to do much more than he did last night.
Eller has no points in his last 11 games.
Is Cammalleri coming around?
Michael Cammalleri has struggled to find his game since coming back from a separated shoulder in February. Recently, however, he looks like he might have turned the corner.
In his first 17 games back, Cammalleri had 10 points (3G, 7A) but in his last five games he has six points (3G, 3A).
In addition, and not coincidentally, his centerman Tomas Plekanec has started to look more like his former self.
Last night, while the Habs didn't win and didn't play exceptionally well, Cammalleri scored a goal that was vintage Cammy.
With the Canadiens trailing by a goal and time running out, Andrei Kostitsyn found Cammalleri through a seem at the side of the net. The puck was bobbling a little and Cammalleri stopped, settled and fired the puck in a second or two.
His quick release ensured that Sens goalie Craig Anderson wasn't in place to stop the puck, with Cammy going shelf-daddy to tie it at two.
The loss was disappointing but there are some very encouraging signs from the Habs No.1 sniper. Considering that the playoffs start next week, the timing of Cammalleri's possible resurgence could not be better timed.
Standings and Next Game
The loss, while disappointing and anti-climactic, didn't do much to the Habs positioning. With one point for the overtime loss Montreal now has 94 in the standings, ensuring they can finish no lower than seventh overall.
Montreal is currently in sixth in the East.
Just behind them are the Sabres in seventh with 92 points and two games in hand. The Rangers close out the top-eight with 91 points and one game left in their season.
Montreal has Friday off before closing out the season on Saturday in Toronto.
If the playoffs started today the Canadiens would be facing Boston in the first round. But given the logjam at the top and bottom of the Eastern conference playoff standings, things could, and probably will, change by Saturday.
--- Kamal is a freelance Habs writer, Senior Writer/Editor-in-Chief of HabsAddict.com, Montreal Canadiens Blogger on Hockeybuzz.com and Habs writer on TheFranchise.ca. Kamal is also a weekly contributor to the Sunday Shinny on The Team 990 (AM 990) every Sunday from 8 - 9 AM. Listen live at http://www.team990.com/
(Photo by Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images North America)
The Montreal Canadiens were in Ottawa last night to take on the Senators, losers of five straight games at home—make that six after last night.
True to form the rapidly imploding Senators provided little resistance, allowing Montreal to score two goals before the four minute mark of the first period.
After Montreal missed on a few more scoring chances the Sens quickly turned things around, with Chris Kelly scoring his 10th of the season to cut the Habs' lead in half.
The Canadiens were actually outshooting the Sens 6-3 at one point in the first, but Ottawa turned the tables on them finishing the first period with a 12-6 shot advantage. In a period where the score could easily have been 4-0 Montreal, they ended up being lucky to escape with a 2-1 lead.
Fortunately for Habs fans, the Senators are just not a very good team right now and Montreal took advantage of that fact, scoring 1:16 and 5:33 into the second period and chasing Mike Brodeur from the net in the process—in favour of Brian Elliott.
Elliott didn't fare much better, and after the Habs' third goal it was all Montreal as the Canadiens blitzed the porous Ottawa defense to score goal after goal after goal.
Ottawa did have some occasional push back but Carey Price was there to shut the door each time they came knocking, sealing the blowout victory.
Final score: Habs 7 - Ottawa 1
Habs' scorers: Benoit Pouliot (10), Tomas Plekanec (15,16), Brian Gionta (16), Max Pacioretty (4), Andrei Kostitsyn (13), P.K. Subban (5)
Sens' scorers: Chris Kelly (10)
Three stars: 1. Tomas Plekanec, 2. Andrei Kostitsyn, 3. Carey Price
Game Notes
1. Andrei Kostitsyn came to play.
From the start of the game you could see that AK46 was once again fully engaged. Whereas Kostitsyn has the maddening ability to lose focus and look lost out on the ice, in recent games he seems like a new player.
Kostitsyn has actually looked good in every game since having a face-to-face meeting with Jacques Martin last week, and has four points (3G, 1A) and a plus-4 rating in his last four games.
Given that Kostitsyn tends to be a streaky player it is almost like fans are constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Well that shoe may still drop but Andrei made sure it wasn't going to happen last night.
From the start of the game he looked fast, focused and furious, dolling out a few solid body checks, driving to the net with conviction and using his blistering fast release to cause havoc to create scoring chances.
Kostitsyn made a great play on Plekanec's first goal, stripping the Ottawa defender of the puck and centering it in the high slot to his centerman.
Almost more importantly than his production is the fact that Kostitsyn, for the first time in years, actually looks like he is enjoying himself. He looks happy out on the ice and that can only be a good thing for him and the team.
Oh and AK46, who was already leading the Canadiens with a plus-9 rating prior to last night's game, finished the game a plus-3.
He now leads all skaters with a plus-12.
2. Andres Engqvist looks real big out there.
OK, admit it, this was not the player you thought the Canadiens would recall this week.
Despite not being the odds on favorite to get a call up to Montreal, rookie Andres Engqvist made his NHL debut last night against the Sens. More importantly, he didn't look out of place and was a solid anchor to the Habs' fourth line with Ryan White and Travis Moen.
While Engqvist is known more as a defensive player, he does have some offensive upside. In addition, his 6'4" frame is a welcome addition to a Canadiens lineup that is desperately lack in size.
The big Swede played an excellent defensive game and used his huge size to add a much needed dose of thump to the Habs bottom-6. He even came close to scoring his first NHL goal by driving to the net and just missing a Ryan White rebound.
Paired with Travis Moen and White, Engqvist finished the night with 12:30 of ice time—1:07 short handed—and went six for twelve in the faceoff circle for an acceptable 50% efficiency rate.
Not a bad night's work for his first NHL game!
3. Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta are men of their words.
When Michael Cammalleri went down to injury this past week and news came out that he would be gone for a minimum of four weeks, the spotlight was quickly shone on Scott Gomez.
Mostly underwhelming since the beginning of the season, Gomez would need to pick up his game in Cammalleri's absence and provide a constant offensive spark for the second line.
To his credit, he and Gionta took time aside to discuss the matter together on the ice the next day, and they both agreed that they can, should and need to give more in Cammy's absence.
Elevate their games, as it were.
Now all athletes tend to say the right thing in a situation like this but to actually walk the walk is another matter altogether. So on the same day that former No.11 and Habs captain, Saku Koivu, was giving a press conference about his return to Montreal, the current No.11 decided to step up.
Last night, Gomez played his best game of the season and was involved, engaged and paying the price in all three zones. Along with Gionta and Max Pacioretty, the Habs' second line played with dogged determination all game and were rewarded with Gionta's 16th and Pacioretty's fourth goal of the season.
Their line finished the night with five points (2G,3A) and 10 of the Canadiens 35 shots on net. Also, Gomez went 8-5 in the faceoff circle for a scintillating 61.5% efficiency.
This line will have to continue to provide consistent performances like last night in order for the Canadiens to keep rolling in the absence of key players.
4. Speaking of elevating your game, Tomas Plekanec was sublime.
Playing a team high among forwards of 17:33 with 1:08 on the power play and 2:39 short handed, Plekanec finished the night with two goals, a plus-3 rating and six shots on net.
Plekanec continues to be the best player on the ice not named Carey Price, night in and night out. Moreover, he continues to get things done offensively as well as being the Canadiens' best defensive forwards.
Plekanec now has 38 points (16G, 22A) and a plus-10 rating in 47 games and has been the Canadiens' most consistent forward all season. Regardless of who he is playing with and whether they are streaking or slumping, Plekanec continues to answer the bell.
Last night, his first goal was a zinger from the high slot off a great pass from Kostitsyn, where he picked the top corner to beat Mike Brodeur. On his second goal, Plekanec picked Mike Fisher's pocket at the Canadiens blueline and skated in alone on Brian Elliott, firing a quick shot past the Sens netminder to make it 5-1 Montreal.
Plekanec continues to show that he is one of the best two-way players in the game by excelling on all situations and in all three zones. As such, as the playoffs get closer and the end of the season nears, his name has to be part of any Selke Trophy conversations.
5. The Sens are a team and organization in disrepair.
From their own, Eugene Melnyk, saying before the season that his team would be a competitive playoff team, to the constant coaching changes, to terrible free agents signings like Alex Kovalev and Sergei Gonchar, the Senators look like a team primed to hit the reset button.
The sad result of all the tumult behind the scenes is disarray on the ice and while you have to give full marks to the Canadiens for taking it to the Sens, Ottawa just looked horrible last night. They are simply not playing as a team and seemed to be employing more of an "every man for himself" scheme.
With everyone pulling in a different direction, disorganization, missed assignments and bad defensive zone coverage were the catch of the day. The result was, well, a blow out by the Canadiens who, before last night, were the fifth lowest scoring team in the league.
The Ottawa players truly look like they have quit on their coach and GM and are just waiting for them to be fired. If they keep playing like they did last night, their wish should come true soon enough.
Standings and Next Game
This win was huge for the Canadiens and not just because it was a blowout. The Habs, who have suddenly won six out of their last eight games, gained two precious points on the idle Boston Bruins, 4-2 losers the day before against the Sabres.
Montreal now has 58 points in the standings with a 27-17-4 record and they are within striking range of the third, fourth and fifth overall spots in the East.
Ahead of the Canadiens are the Capitals with 60 points, the Penguins with 62 points and the Bruins with 59 points and one game in hand.
Behind Montreal are the usual suspects; The Rangers with 57 points and one more game played, the Thrashers with 54 points and one more game played and the Hurricanes with 52 points and one game in hand.
Montreal returns home to take on the Anaheim Ducks at the Bell Centre tonight. This is a match that will feature the return of former Habs' captain, Saku Koivu, to Montreal for the first time since being let go as a free agent two years ago.
The Ottawa Senators have been having a rough time of things lately with star forwards Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson each having gone seven games without a point. In addition, Alex Kovalev—whose name has been circulating in rumours as a possible trade acquisition target by the Montreal Canadiens—has gone five games without a point. It's no wonder then that the Sens are currently outside looking in on the playoff picture.
The Canadiens, riding a two-game winning streak, showed no mercy for their struggling opponent, dominating the neutral zone to outshooting the Senators 13-6 in the first period. Michael Cammalleri opened the scoring on the power play when he picked up his own rebound and put it high past Pascal Leclaire. The goal marked the 19th time the Habs have scored the first goal in 28th games.
Their record when scoring first now stands at 16-2-1.
A Habs turnover on a late first period power play allowed the Sens to tie it up with nine seconds to play. With an assist on the goal, Jason Spezza finally broke his seven-game pointless drought.
Unfortunately for the Canadiens, they stopped skating in the second period and allowed the Sens to dominate play. In addition, they fired blanks on a five-minute and four-minute power play, handing the momentum over to the Sens.
These big penalty kills swung the momentum towards the Senators but Carey Price was there to ensure his teammates didn't fall behind, as they were being outshot 13-9 in the second frame.
The Habs started skating again in the third and broke the 1-1 tie on a brilliant individual effort from Jeff Halpern. That goal seemed to put the Sens back on their heels and the Habs responded by potting two more goals in the third to seal the deal.
Final score: Habs 4 - Sens 1
Habs' scorers: Michael Cammalleri (9), Jeff Halpern (6), Brian Gionta (9), Roman Hamrlik (3)
Sens' scorers: Nick Foligno (2)
Three stars: 1. Michael Cammalleri, 2. Brian Gionta, 3. Jeff Halpern
Game Notes
1. Oops, Price did it again.
While Carey wasn't tested much over the first twenty minutes of play, he had to be solid during a second period where the Sens were outshooting the Habs 13-9. As the Sens seized the momentum off of two strong PKs and dominated play through the neutral zone, the reeling Habs allowed the Sens to barrage their netminder for 13 shots.
But Price, the iceman, was calm, cool and collected, as he has been all season, turning aside shots, swallowing pucks and letting out nary a rebound. The positionally-solid Price forced the swarming Sens to mostly hit him right in the crest with the puck.
Even a little physical contact and crease crashing by the Sens was not enough to throw Price off of his game, and he was even seen yapping at the Ottawa players after making a few great saves, a la Patrick Roy. This is a player who is in full possession of all of his faculties and is completely dominating the league as a result.
Price's GAA and save percentages are both third among all starters at a sparkling 1.92 and .936, respectively. In addition, the win was Price's 17th of the season in 26 starts, first among all goaltenders.
Is now a good time to start including Price's name in the Vezina and Hart trophy discussions?
2. Michael Cammalleri was the Habs best player.
With one goal, five shots on net and 18:43 of ice time, Cammalleri was the Habs best player not named Carey Price last night. He was all over the ice, combative, aggressive around the net and looked like the Michael Cammalleri who was tearing up the ice during the 2010 playoffs.
Driving to the net and working some stick handling magic, Cammalleri was a sparkplug on the second line and showed that "never quit" attitude that he's been missing since being teamed up with Scott Gomez.
While Cammalleri played some excellent hockey the weakness of his linemates was still evident. Cammalleri sprung Travis Moen clear in front of the Senators goalie with a beautiful pass, but Moen wasn't even able to get a shot off, let alone score.
The play illustrated the dire need for a scoring winger to play on that line.
Despite their recent struggles, the Cammalleri-Gomez-Moen line actually played one of their best games together until Gomez left the game with a lower-body injury in the second.
With Gomez now listed as day-to-day it will be interesting to see how Jacques Martin composes his lines going forward. Given the strength of the third line with Lars Eller, logic would dictate that Jeff Halpern, who scored a beautiful goal last night, will get the spot. But Jacques Martin doesn't always do what I feel is logical, so who really knows.
3. Brian Gionta has really come back to life.
With two points (1G, 1A) four shots on net and a plus-2, Gionta now has seven points (4G, 3A) and a plus-4 rating over his last seven games. While he struggled at the beginning of the season playing with Gomez, rather than withering away, he put his head down and worked his butt off. The points weren't coming and he was getting frustrated, but he was still doing the little things right to help his team win.
Since being switched to the Tomas Plekanec line, however, Gionta has rediscovered his scoring touch and has eight of his nine goals in the last 15 games. Add to that the fact that he is still leading by his quiet, hardworking example and you have a player who is a true leader on this team.
4. The Habs have surprising scoring depth.
The boon for the Canadiens and the secret to their scoring success has been the contributions from all four lines. While the Habs' second line has struggled—largely due to Gomez's ineffectiveness and Travis Moen's lack of top-six skills—the Canadiens have a bevy of players contributing on the scoreboard.
After last night's game, the Habs now have four players who have scored nine goals—Plekanec, Gionta, Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn—and are each on pace to score 26 this season. In addition, Benoit Pouliot has six goals and is on pace to score 18 this season—all of this from the third line while averaging 11:55 of ice time. Jeff Halpern too has been getting in on the action, scoring his fifth goal last night and is on pace to pot 15 this season—while averaging 13:16 of ice time.
Finally, each with four goals scored so far, both Maxim Lapierre and Scott Gomez are on pace to score at least 12 goals. Add it all up and the Canadiens currently have eight players who are on pace to score at least 12 goals, six on pace to score at least 15 and four that are on pace to score 25 or more.
When the Habs won the cup in 1993, they had 13 players who scored 10 or more, 11 who scored 12 or more, seven who scored 15 or more, four who scored 20 or more and two who score 30 or more.
While the current edition of the Habs are not quite at the depth level of the 1993 Stanley Cup Champions, if they can find a bonafide top-six scoring forward to play on the second line while still leading the league in goals against, the Habs will continue to be a top-tier team in the NHL.
5. Scott Gomez was injured last night, so now what?
Fans' wishes to no longer have Scott Gomez centering the second line came true last night when he left the game with a lower-body injury. Gomez went to the dressing room near the end of the first period, player two shifts in the second and was done for the night.
There is no official word on the extent or nature of the injury except that it is to his lower-body, likely his back, and Gomez is listed as day-to-day. While in theory, it is good that someone else will get a shot at centering the second line, in a way it was kind of unfortunate, because for a rare occasion the Gomez line was actually playing like a cohesive unit last night.
Jeff Halpern seems to be the heir apparent to the second line and not a moment too soon. I mean isn't it about time Canadiens management found a center to play with Cammalleri?
There is a slight temptation is see what Lars Eller can do playing on the second line and, perhaps even let him bring his winger, Benoit Pouliot with him. That being said, he has slowly been progressing well and I would be surprised if Martin decided to vault him into the top-six.
Another interesting option that was discussed on RDS's L'Anti-chambre last night, was to bring up both David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty from Hamilton. Both players have been playing together in the AHL, have great chemistry and are absolutely tearing it up.
While they clearly deserve a shot at the NHL level, the Habs seem to be taking a more cautious approach with young players of late. I personally have no problem with that and think that maybe it is a sign that Habs' management has learned from the errors of rushing too many young players through the system.
Either way you have to think that Pacioretty seems destined for a tryout on the Habs second line. All that remains to be seen is at what point of the season that will happen. If I was a betting man, which I'm not, I wouldn't anticipate Pacioretty getting a chance before the new year.
Standings and Next Game
The Habs are now riding a three-game winning streak, have an 18-8-2 record and 38 points in the standings. They are currently tied for third overall in the East with the Flyers, but sit in third in conference standings in virtue of their first place overall in the Northeast division.
The Boston Bruins are five points back of the Canadiens with two games in hand.
The Canadiens will enjoy two days off before perhaps their biggest test of the season: a Friday night matchup against the Detroit Red Wings, in Detroit. The Red Wings are 10-2-2 at Joe Louis Arena this season, so it will be no easy feat for the Habs.
Who will be the second line center? Will P.K. Subban be back in the lineup? Are the Habs ready to call up a player from Hamilton?
Tune in Friday to find out.
Sunday Shinny on The Team 990
A quick footnote to let you all know that I now have a regular radio segment on the Team 990 (http://www.team990.com) every Sunday from 8 am - 9am, on The Franchise Montreal Weekend morning show.
The segment is called Sunday Shinny with Gary Whittaker, Nick Murdocco, Amanda Stein and yours truly. We will be reviewing the Montreal Canadiens but also looking at happenings around the league.
Tune in on Sundays and send me your feedback!
(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)
What's the opposite of a well-oiled machine? A broken-down rustbucket?
If so, then that's what the Canadiens are playing like right now. A broken-down rustbucket.
As the Canadiens took on the Ottawa Senators in Montreal last night, you were hoping for a return to the kind of tenacious play that had made them so successful over the first 10 games of the season.
Instead, they looked tired and disorganized as they watched Ottawa take the play to them for most of the night.
Right now, it seems that very little is going right for the Canadiens.
Their defensive pairings are not working, none of the Canadiens goal-scorers are able to score, players who are known to be defensively responsible, like Scott Gomez, are making mistake after mistake and the power play continues to be a laughingstock—3-for-47, 30th overall in the NHL.
From the top to the bottom of their lineup, the Habs are misfiring, and the result was another half-hearted, disorganized loss to the Senators last night.
To their credit, the Sens are playing much better than during the first 10 or so games of the season. They took advantage of a porous Montreal defensive squad and outshot the Canadiens, 25-15, after two periods, 31-23 on the night.
The only reason this game wasn't over in the second period was because of the scintillating play of Carey Price.
The Habs had their chances, mind you, as the lack of physicality in the game allowed them to employ an effective cycle based off their speed and skill. But when they did have good scoring chances, Brian Elliott was there to shut the door.
Final score: Sens 3, Habs 2
Habs' scorers: Jaroslav Spacek (1), Brian Gionta (2)
Sens' scorers: Alex Kovalev (4, 5), Zack Smith (2)
Three Stars: 1. Alex Kovalev, 2. Carey Price, 3. Brian Elliott
Game Notes
1. It's Time To Send Lars Eller to Hamilton
I'm sorry, but a player as promising as Eller needs to be playing more minutes and absolutely cannot be wasted in the press box as he was last night. If the coach doesn't see him fitting into the lineup, then send him down to Hamilton and let him play top-line minutes. This will help him to continue seasoning.
If Jacques Martin, who does not have the best reputation of bringing along young players, is going to give Eller the press box treatment, then the latter should not be playing in Montreal.
This past week, Habs prospect Max Pacioretty came out publicly on Montreal airwaves (Team 990) to say that if he is was going to play in the top six with the Habs, he'd rather play the whole season in Hamilton.
Pacioretty went on to say that every time he made a mistake last year, he was demoted or put in the press box, and that hurt his confidence.
This is exactly the same treatment that Eller is getting from the wise old coach, right now, and I fear that it will do more damage than good. As such, I would rather the Habs send Eller to Hamilton and bring up a David Desharnais or Ryan White.
Please, oh please, Jacques Martin, don't destroy another promising prospect!
2. Price Was the Unsung Hero of the Game
When the Canadiens legs went to sleep in the second period and the Sens were blitzing the offensive zone, Price was the difference-maker. His excellent play kept the score close long enough for the Habs to climb back into things with a fluky, late second-period goal.
Price kept his teammates in the game again last night and gave them an opportunity to win the game.
But when Tomas Plekanec couldn't score on a short-handed break with the Habs trailing by a goal, the game was lost. On the ensuing play in the Canadiens zone, Kovalev scored his second of the game on what would end up being the winning goal.
3. Brian Gionta Was Better but Michael Cammalleri Was Worse
Gionta had more jump to his game, as he seemed to be skating with a sense of liberation on the Tomas Plekanec line, and he was rewarded with his second goal of the season late in the third period.
The goal was a bit of a lucky one on a shot from the outside that seemed to go through Elliott. But he'll take the goal and cross his fingers that it will dislodge that monkey's firm grip on his back.
The bigger problem for the Canadiens, right now, is that Gionta and Gomez's lethargy seems to have rubbed off on Andrei Kostitsyn and Michael Cammalleri.
AK46 has zero points and a minus-4 rating over his last five games, while Cammalleri has only two assists over his last six games.
Add that to Gionta's one goal and one assist in his last nine, and Gomez's one goal and two assists over 14 games, and you see why the Habs are struggling to win.
Right now, the Canadiens look a lot more like the .500 team from 2009-10 that was last in 5-on-5 scoring than the team that roared to a 7-4-1 record to start the season.
Cammalleri, in particular, played one of his worst games of the season. He looked tired, like the rest of the team, and when you're tired you tend to cheat and use your stick rather than take that extra stride. Cammy took a terrible slashing penalty to kill the Habs' 5-on-3 power play when the game was still tied at zero.
Had the Canadiens been able to score on that PP, it would have changed the entire complexion of the game.
4. Aside from Price, the Fourth Line is the Only Thing that Is Functioning
Benoit Pouliot looks as if he has rediscovered his confidence playing on the fourth line with Mathieu Darche and Jeff Halpern. That trio combined for some of the Habs' best offensive moments against the Senators last night. While they didn't score, if they can keep playing this well, they will provide valuable offensive depth.
There were a few shifts in the second period where the Habs were in the Sens zone for almost a minute each time, with Pouliot carrying the puck and controlling the play as his linemates used their gritty play to create time and space.
Even if they are not contributing offensively, lines like this can grab the momentum away from the opposition and help transfer it to the other lines.
Now if only the top-six could get going!
5. Speaking of Missing in Action, Where Is the Habs Third Line?
I have already stated that I am not a fan of Eller in the press box. That being said, there were three capable players on the third line last night, but the trio was completely invisible.
To a man, Maxim Lapierre, Dustin Boyd and Tom Pyatt contributed nothing to the Habs lineup last night. This further compounds the issues in the Canadiens offensive ranks, as a one-line team will not win many games. Especially when that one line is their fourth line.
Standings and Next Game
The loss moves the Canadiens to 8-5-1 with 17 points in the standings. Their hold on first place in the Northeast Division is tenuous with both the Senators and Bruins at 15 points in the standings. The Bruins also hold three games in hand.
The Canadiens are now entering a more difficult part of their schedule as they play Vancouver, Boston and Philadelphia over the next 10 days.
Hopefully Jacques Martin can use their two days off to find some stable lines before they welcome the surging Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday in Montreal. Tuesday's tilt will be the first real test of the season for the Canadiens, and with their recent swoon they are going to have their hands full.
The Habs are now 1-3-0 in their last four games, and were it not for a disheveled Sabres squad, they might be on a four-game losing streak right now.
(Photo by Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images North America)
Two nights after getting shutdown and shutout by the New Jersey Devils, the Montreal Canadiens were in Ottawa to return that same favour to the Senators.
Outplaying the Senators for large stretches of the game and outshooting them 34-19 in the process, the Habs won the game on the backs of two goals by Andrei Kostitsyn and a shutout by Carey Price.
The Sens, who had play the night before against Buffalo, brought a physical game to the table in the first ten minutes of the game but fatigue quickly took over and they couldn't muster much offense—as their four first period shots can attest.
Fatigue aside, the Sens just didn't look like a very cohesive team on the ice, lead by the freestyling-solo-act of Alex Kovalev, who has one assist and is a minus-five over eight games.
The Sens had a stronger forecheck in the second period but Price was solid and made several spectacular saves to preserve the Habs' 1-0 lead.
By the third period, with the Habs leading 3-0, they settled into their 1-2-2- trap which allows the Sens to have much more puck possession time in the Canadiens' zone.
Oddly, though, which the Sens had a lot of puck possession in the Habs zone, showed lots of movement, made a lot of passes, they ultimately had few shots and even fewer scoring chances. When they did, Price was there to make the save.
Final Score: Habs 3 - Sens 0
Habs scorers: Andrei Kostitsyn (3,4), Benoit Pouliot (1)
Sens scorers: None
Three stars: 1. Andrei Kostitsyn 2. Carey Price 3. P.K. Subban
Game Notes
1. Price was solid again and seems to have found a new level of play.
Even when his teammates had stopped skate and were sitting back in their 1-2-2 trap for the entire third period, Price still maintained his focus. This was evidenced by his save on Daniel Alfredsson's partial break with 1:39 to play in the game.
On the play, Price cut down the angle, gave the shooter nothing to look at and calmly made the save.
Overall, his body language while in the net is much calmer and balanced than it used to be. He doesn't get too high when he makes a great save and doesn't get too low when he lets in a goal.
Last night was Price's first shutout since November 11, 2008 ironically also against the Senators.
2. Andrei Kostitsyn continues is torrid start to the season.
Kostitsyn's two goals, plus-two rating and three shots on goal give him a total of six points (four goals, two assists) a plus-three rating, and 21 shots on goal—third to Brian Gionta's 28 and Michael Cammalleri's 26.
Moreover, his chemistry on with Plekanec and Cammalleri is stupendous.
Plekanec did all of the work on AK46's first goal, as he drew both Ottawa players towards him and one-handing the puck to Kostitsyn in the high slot. AK46 made no mistake of that opportunity and roofed the puck over Elliot for a 1-0 lead.
That goal demonstrated the incredible skill and vision that Plekanec has but also showed that maybe AK is learning how to be in the right place at the right time.
He second goal was scored in a similar manner with Cammalleri driving to the net and Kostitsyn picking up the loose puck on the side and firing it past the Sens goalie.
With the shot he has, if he can continue to find the open seem he will be a force on that top line all season long.
3. Lars Eller finally played as a center. Yay!
However he played center on the fourth line with Travis Moen and Mathieu Darche. Boo!
Since the beginning of the season I have thought that Eller should be playing his natural position of center. However I thought he would be a good fit as the third line center on this team playing with maybe Maxim Lapierre and Dustin Boyd. So far, Jacques Martin has seen fit to play him as a winger on the third line.
While Eller has shown a few flashes of brilliance out there, he is not getting enough ice time and does not look entirely comfortable playing the wing.
Last night, Jacques Martin moved him to the wing, but on the fourth line with Moen and Darche which makes no sense to me. Eller's skill level and vision as a centerman are lost on Moen and Darche neither of whom have the speed or the skill to keep up with Eller.
As a result, Eller was once again relatively invisible last night. I still maintain that if he is going to play on the wing it should be in the top six. Failing that, he should be the third line center or sent down to Hamilton to get a ton of ice time.
He is just not being well utilized in Montreal so far.
4. Subban played his best game in a Habs uniform.
Taking and giving punishing body checks, making outstanding defensive plays, showing excellent position and speed, and making a great first pass, P.K. Subban played like a stalwart on the back end.
He was and is easily the Habs best defenseman right now and, in Andrei Markov's absence, his abilities are sorely needed.
Subban is clearly being targeted by the opposition and he is neither backing down nor getting intimidated. That being said, it would be nice to see a Travis Moen go after some of these guys to give P.K. a little more breathing room. Subban is too important to the team to have to be fighting and scuffling with the opposition. Someone on his team needs to help him out in that department.
That aside, he was simply outstanding last night. One assist, four hits, a plus-one rating, four shots on goal and a number of blocked shots—but none more painful than the Chris Campoli slapper off of his ankle.
If Subban keeps playing like he did last night, the Habs defense will become formidable once Markov is back in a week or so.
5. The power play was again powerless.
The Habs look lost on the power play, pure and simple. Watching their play with the man-advantage, they are looking around and don't know who to pass to, don't know whether to shoot or not, and are never in the right position.
When there is an opportunity to shoot from the point, there is no one in front of the net. When there is a cross-ice pass attempt, it is always picked off or block. Even shots from the point rarely get through.
The result is that the Habs are not able to move and disrupt the opposition’s box and as a result, get few to no scoring chances. The closest they came to a pp goal was when Benoit Pouliot scored his sigh-of-relief-inducing first goal of the season four seconds after pp was over.
That goal was the result of a flubbed shot by Josh Gorges that missed the net and bounced off of the back boards to Pouliot for the tap-in.
Boy do these guys need Andrei Markov back to help revive a flatlined pp. The good news is that they have still been winning without the power play which is now 1-for-20 for a five percent efficiency rate. Ouch.
6. The second line is still running with a flat tire
Let me just start by saying that "trying" Tom Pyatt on the wing with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta is foolish. For all his speed and tenacity, Pyatt does not have the finish to play in the top six.
For their parts, Gionta is still leading the team in shots on goal but only have one goal to show for it.
Scott Gomez, on the other hand, must be focusing too much on Halloween because he is doing a great job of playing the invisible man. He is the biggest problem with that line right now and until he gets going there is little that the coach can do to create a spark.
Is it time to split up the Gionta-Gomez duo and try something completely different?
Standings and Next Game
The win gives the Canadiens a 4-2-1 record good for nine points and a share of first place in their division with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Habs now come back to Montreal where they will face the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday night at the Bell Center.
Who will Jacques Martin put on that second line on Monday? Tune in to find out!
SIDENOTE:
I'll be on Montreal's CJAD AM 800 Habs Show, with Barry Morgan, tonight (Sunday Oct. 24, 2010) from 6 - 6:30 pm. Listen in or listen live here.
(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)
