45,000-plus fans and media are ready to brave the frigid temperature of Calgary, Alberta tonight in the second ever NHL Heritage Classic. The last classic took place eight years ago with these same Montreal Canadiens taking on the Edmonton Oilers.
After a few days of festivities the hype is over, the PR jobs are done and the players are ready. Today, at 6:00 PM EST, the puck drops for the 2011 Heritage Classic at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.
Lost in the publicly televised Habs practice, the players trying on different types of long underwear, hoods and socks, and the chicken broth at the bench to help keep them warm, is the fact there there are a hugely important two points on the line tonight.
Standings
The Habs, who have been in a free fall of late going 1-3-2 in their last six games, need the win to keep pace with the Bruins and keep a buffer on the teams behind them. More importantly, they just need a good showing and two points will go a long way towards turning around a road trip that started on a terrible note in Edmonton on Thursday.
A win will also snap a two-game losing streak by the Habs.
The outlook is decidedly more positive in Calgary where the once cellar-dwelling Flames have turned their season around, sitting in a four-way tie for fifth overall in the West with 68 points.
Calgary is actually in ninth at the moment due to their 60 games played and 30 wins to the Ducks' 32, Stars' 31 and Kings' 32. However, going 7-1-2 in their last ten games and 10-1-2 in their last 13, the Flames are a team on fire—pun fully intended.
Goaltending
Carey Price will get his 53rd start of the season and will be donning his new Heritage Classic mask.
For those who haven't yet seen it, take a look at these pictures because it's a bit difficult to describe and a bit hilarious to look at!
Well at least I think so.
For the Flames, expect Miikka Kiprusoff to get his 13th straight start and 52nd of the year.
Price has the better numbers out of the two, but stats don't necessarily matter in a game where the sun will be shining brightly and possibly making it more difficult for these work-horse netminders.
Special Teams and Scoring
The Flames are a much more offensive team than Montreal with their 8th overall 2.9 goals-for per game, to the Habs anemic 25th overall 2.6 per game. The Habs, however, have the edge in the goals-against department with their 8th overall 2.5 per game to the Flames 17th overall 2.8.
As such, you would expect this game to feature defense versus offense meaning the that Price will have to be sharp.
The Habs have a huge advantage in the special teams department with the ninth best power play at 19 percent, and sixth overall PK at 84.8 percent. The Flames will counter with a below average 19th overall PP at 16.8 percent and 17th overall PK at 81.4 percent.
Despite the Habs top-10 PP, they have gone only 2-for-16 in their last four games for a pitiful 12.5 percent efficiency.
Roster Changes
Montreal is getting a bevy of players back in the lineup today with the return of Hal Gill, Michael Cammalleri and supposedly James Wizniewski. The Wiz, who took a shot in the face last game and went to the hospital with a severe facial laceration, was practicing yesterday with a full face cage, a wicked shiner and a Frankenstein-like gash on his face.
Even if the Habs only get Cammy and Gill back, it will provide a well needed boost for the team.
If we go by the lines at practice yesterday, it looks like David Desharnais will finally be getting his shot as the second line center, playing between Cammalleri and Benoit Pouliot.
Defenseman Jaroslav Spacek continues to be on the sidelines with no real word on the extent of his injury or potential length of absence from the lineup.
The Flames are a relatively healthy team but continue to be without the services of Daymond Langkow, Raitis Ivanans and Adam Pardy.
The puck drops at 6:00 PM EST.
--- 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/
There you go Habs fans, the "easy" game on this three-game road trip is out of the way! Wasn't that fun? Wasn't that easy?
No, it wasn't.
With the Montreal Canadiens and the Edmonton Oilers facing off at Rexall Place last night, the Habs had a chance to kick off their Western road trip with a win against the worst team in the league.
Instead, Montreal allowed the enthusiastic Oilers to skate at will in their zone, getting several quality scoring chances from the high slot in the first period alone.
The Oilers got the party stared when Ales Hemsky waltzed through the Canadiens' porous defensive coverage and wired a wrister top shelf past Price. After the goal, Edmonton completely dominated the rest of the period as the tired looking Habs struggled to keep up.
As has been the case far too often this season, Price was left to his own devices and had to make four or five huge saves to keep it a one goal game.
Montreal came back to life in the second, dominating play, outshooting the Oilers 17-8 and tying it up at one on Jeff Halpern's ninth of the season. Despite his horrible rebound control, Edmonton goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin made the difference in the second, and the Habs were simply unable to capitalize on their chances.
Unfortunately for the Habs, down to only five defenseman, the wheels completely fell off the cart in the third.
Price, who had been solid all game, let in two weak goals in a 15-second span, giving the Oilers a 3-1 lead. While P.K. Subban's ill-timed pinch and Andrei Kostitsyn's lackadaisical defensive coverage allowed the Oilers' players to score, both were shots that Price should have had.
Ales Hemsky sealed the deal with his second of the night into the empty net to sweep the season series against Montreal.
Final score: Oilers 4 - Habs 1
Habs' scorers: Jeff Halpern (9)
Oilers' scorers: Ales Hemsky (11, 12), Jordan Eberle (13), Ryan Jones (13)
Three stars: 1. Nikolai Khabibulin, 2. Ryan Jones, 3. Jordan Eberle
Game Notes
1. Give 'em a break!
With the injury bug raping and pillaging the Canadiens defensive ranks this season, GM Pierre Gauthier acquired Paul Mara from the Anaheim Ducks yesterday. It was a depth move needed to shore up the Habs blueline with Jaroslav Spacek joining the walking wounded this week.
While Mara was scheduled to play last night, his equipment didn't show up in time, meaning that he ended up being a healthy scratch.
If that wasn't enough, James Wizniewski blocked a shot with his face early in the game, fell to the ice in a pool of blood and was sent straight to the hospital.
This meant that the Habs, who already looked tired, were left with only five defenseman, three of whom were rookies.
To a man, the Canadiens defenseman did double duty clocking in with ridiculous amounts of ice time as follows:
P.K. Subban, 29:29, Roman Hamrlik, 27:36, Alexandre Picard, 23:23, Yannick Weber, 27:38, Brandon Nash, 8:30, James Wizniewski, 3:24.
Considering that the Wiz was gone after the first period and the Nash was nailed to the bench during the second, that left four Canadiens' defenders to do the job of six. That is too much to ask of any defensive squad and you could see that players like Subban and Hamrlik were completely gassed by the third.
The defensive corps fatigue was a huge factor in this loss, as the defense and the team in front of it, completely collapsed in the third period.
2. Andrei Kostitsyn came to play.
Well, at least in the first period he did.
He had a few plays in the first where he took the puck to the net with conviction, something he hasn't done in months.
AK actually had the Habs best scoring chance of the first when he took on two Oilers defenders, undressed them with a great fake, cut to the net, beat the goaltender but had the puck poke-checked away by Khabibulin.
As the Team 990's Conor McKenna pointed out on Twitter last night, that is Kostitsyn's career in a nutshell.
You've got to feel for the guy who surely knows that his time is very likely up with the Habs.
With Pierre Gauthier scouting the Sharks/Capitals game last night and assistant GM, Larry Carriere, scouting the Predators last few games, you know the Habs are looking to make a move. And whatever they decide to do, you would have to think that Kostitsyn is almost a lock to be moved out of town within the next week or so.
This is a fact that he is undoubtedly aware of.
3. Benoit Pouliot looks like a different player.
RDS analyst, Denis Gauthier, hit the nail on the head when he said that Pouliot seems like he plays up or down to the level of his linemates.
Since being paired with David Desharnais and Ryan White, Pouliot has become a different player. Moreover, Desharnais—who made Dustin Boyd look like a 50-goal scorer in the AHL—continues to spur Pouliot to greater heights.
Desharnais skill, vision and grit, paired with Ryan White's energy, determination and nose for the net are lifting Pouliot to another level. As such, he is perhaps starting to look more like the fourth overall draft pick that he is.
Playing big, hitting, shooting and always going to the net, Pouliot looks like he might be starting to live up to the projections.
Jacques Martin shuffled his lines a bit in the second, pairing Pouliot with Halpern and Lars Eller and it bore immediate fruit. Pouliot, who until recently hasn't been known to crash the crease, charged the blue paint on a Lars Eller goal-mouth shot, knocking the defenseman out of the way and leading to a scramble.
This allowed Halpern to get the rebound up and over a fallen Khabibulin, knotting the game at one.
We sometimes forget that Pouliot, who far too often plays small, is actually 6'3" and 195 lbs. Lately, he has actually been using his size and if he continues to do so he will be a very effective player for the Habs.
4. Lars Eller played his best game in a Habs uniform.
I'm not sure where it suddenly came from, but Lars Eller was a beast last night.
For most players, their play starts getting better and better, game and game, before they have some kind of breakout. With Eller, it was exactly the opposite as he has basically been invisible the last few weeks on a sputtering line with Gomez and Kostitsyn.
Last night, however, with Coach Martin mixing up the lines in the second period, Eller found himself on the wing with Halpern and Pouliot and the combination was dynamite.
On one of their first shifts together they scored the Habs first goal with Eller driving to the net, Pouliot knocking the defenseman out of the way and all three players jamming at the puck around Khabibulin.
The result was Halpern's ninth of the season and an assist for Eller, in a sequence where the Pouliot was being double shifted.
If Eller can keep that kind of gusto up it will go a long way towards helping revive the dead Gomez line. Or, if Martin decides to mix up his lines, Eller's play will be a boon wherever he plays.
5. Scott Gomez finally showed up!
For the first time in months, Scott Gomez played like a bonafide second line center.
He was skating, making great passes, using his speed and shifty play to setup scoring chances and make things happen in the offensive zone.
It's no coincidence that in the same game that Gomez showed up, his linemate, Andrei Kostitsyn, also played his best game in months.
Gomez played so well that he was rewarded by Martin, by being reunited with his long time linemate Brian Gionta—Pouliot was the third man on that line. They only had a few shifts together but they looked really good. Perhaps the wise old coach will keep them together for a stretch.
The biggest problem for Gomez is that despite his strong play, he still somehow managed to finish the night as a minus-2. In case you’re counting, that gives him a team and career low minus-18 for the season.
This horrendous stat gives him the seventh worst plus/minus in the league, at minus-18, placing him 824th out of 838 players in the league.
Ouch.
For a guy who was raised in the New Jersey system and who is a career plus player, something has gone seriously off the rails for Mr. Gomez this season.
Standings and Next Game
After a three-game winning streak to start the month of February, the Habs have now gone 1-3-2 in their last six. The loss keeps them stalled in sixth overall in the East with the Rangers closing on them and the Bruins trying to pull away.
Ahead of the Habs are the Bruins with 71 points and one game in hand, and the Caps with 70 points and the same number of games played.
Behind the Canadiens are the usual suspects but their lead over them is starting to evaporate. In seventh are the Rangers with 66 points, Carolina in eighth with 62 and one game in hand, Buffalo in ninth with 60 points and three games in hand and the Thrashers with 60 points.
Things don't get any easier for Montreal who have two days off before the Heritage Classic in Calgary on Sunday. At 7-1-2 in their last ten games, the Flames are one of the hottest teams in the league.
The only good news is that it is looking like both Hal Gill and Michael Cammalleri should be in the lineup on Sunday.
And not a moment too soon!
--- 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/
The trade was announced around 1:00 AM Eastern, so it took a few hours for the Twitterverse to light up.
Lost in the excitement—or disappointment as it were—of this relatively minor trade was the fact that the Canadiens play their first of three games on a critical road trip out West tonight.
Their first landing spot is Edmonton, where the cellar dweller Oilers await the Habs.
Montreal has not fared well out west in the last few years and with the Heritage Classic on Sunday in Calgary, the Habs will have their work cut out to focus on the task at hand.
Standings
With the Washington Capitals winning a wild one against the Ducks yesterday, they moved one point ahead of the Canadiens in the standings, pushing them back into sixth in the East.
With 69 points in the standings, however, a win by the Canadiens tonight would move them back into fifth, one point ahead of the Caps with 71 points.
The Bruins with 69 points—currently in first place in the Northeast division in virtue of their one game in hand—play the Isles tonight and a loss by the B's, coupled by a Habs win, would send the Canadiens into first place in the Northeast and third in the division.
Umm, ya, the playoff picture is complicated and changes by the day.
As for the Oilers, well, with 25 games to play and 42 points in the standings, they are all but mathematically eliminated from the playoff race. Edmonton has only two wins in their last eight games and is a team that the Habs absolutely must beat.
That being said, the Habs have not fared well in Edmonton in recent years, losing three straight and seven out of the last eight games at Rexall Place.
Goaltending
Carey Price will be making his league-leading 52nd start of the season after coming off of a 3-2, 10-round shootout loss to the Sabres on Tuesday.
For the Oilers, the goaltending picture is murkier but Nikolai Khabibulin, who earned the Oil's first home win in a month against the Stars on Tuesday, should get the start.
If not, look for Devan Dubnyk, who made 36 saves for the win the last time these two teams faced off, to get the call.
Special Teams and Scoring
Just like their point totals, there is a huge mismatch in the special teams department.
Despite their recent struggles with the man-advantage, Montreal boasts the ninth overall power play at 19.1 percent and the sixth overall penalty kill at 84.6 percent.
Contrast that with the Oilers 30th ranked PP at 12.0 percent and 30th ranks PK at 75.4 percent, and you can see how the Habs should be able to easily control this facet of the game.
Neither team has a very potent offense, with the Habs holding the 25th spot at 2.6 goals per game to the Oilers’ 28th 2.5. But it's in the goals-against department that the Canadiens hold a clear advantage with a seventh overall 2.5 per game to the Oilers 29th 3.3.
Good thing for the Oilers that hockey games are played on the ice and not on paper, because this game looks like a total mismatch in every statistical department.
The young guns have been getting it done for the Habs lately, with David Desharnais producing seven points in his last seven games and Max Pacioretty with five points in his last four.
For the Oilers, it is Jordan Eberle who is bringing the heat with seven points in his last seven games.
Roster Changes
New trade acquisition, Paul Mara, is expected to join the Canadiens in Edmonton tonight and should slot into the lineup with no word yet on who his playing partner will be.
"Team Clinic" is still in full effect for the Habs who will be without the services of Hal Gill and Spacek, to go along with longer term injuries to Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges and Michael Cammalleri.
Both Cammalleri and Gill accompanied the team on the trip, meaning that they should be back in the lineup soon with the former targeting a return for the Heritage Classic on Sunday.
For the Oil, they continue to be without the services of Ryan Whitney and Gilbert Brule, but are otherwise healthy.
Game time is 9:00 PM Eastern.
--- 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 Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)
Habs Inside/Out - Game 60: Flames freeze out Canadiens
