Friday, April 30, 2010

Game time. Round Two: Canadiens vs. Penguins

Well, now that the after party of our stunning game seven victory is nearing it's end, it's time to face a sobering reality. Tonight the Canadiens take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, the defending Stanley Cup champions led by Sidney Crosby who had 14 points in only six games against the Senators.
Buzz kill,
I know.
So how can we take this team down? They are more disciplined than the Capitals, have proven goaltending and their best players have been their best players. If this team wants to hold up against the Penguins they need to keep doing what they are doing, but improve greatly in other areas. For example, the shut down tandem of Gill and Gorges will need to continue to frustrate the opponent's top lines by getting their sticks in traffic and muscling them off the puck. Although, only 15 shots are not going to be enough to outscore this team. Marc Andre Fleury is a far more mature, consistent and talented Goalie than Semyon Varlamov. He wasn't the first overall pick in 2003 for nothing. One player for the Canadiens who has to step it up is another 2003 draftee, the 10th overall pick Andrei Kostitsyn. Since scoring a hat-trick in game two, he has looked incredibly flakey and has trouble hitting the nets on his shots. Something that goes without saying is that Jaroslav Halak needs to be Jaroslav Halak. His first round performance will go down as one of the best series performance by a goalie of all time, if he does not put the same effort into this series, it will not be remembered for long.
As we've seen from the Capitals series, the Canadiens can play with the NHL's elite, the team needs to continue to be inspired and the fans need to keep supporting this club. Because, who knows? This could be a team of destiny.
Enjoy the game.
Peace true believers,
E

Thursday, April 29, 2010

UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE. PLUS ROUND TWO PREVIEW



I would be lying if I told you I wasn't nervous last night, I would be a fibber if I told you that I didn't feel the initial stages of Cardiac Arrest coming over me as we killed that final Ryan O'Byrne penalty. One thing I am not lying about, is that I had faith in this team. I continued to have faith in this team and at NO point did I write the Montreal Canadiens' obituary prematurely.
I knew this day would come, I knew eventually I'd be able to safely praise Bob Gainey and at the same time, make all of you idiots who do not have the self confidence to support this team all year round feel well, like idiots. Well guys, I'll let you wallow in your own shame. But here's some subtle retribution for all the crap you gave this team throughout this year.

To all those who believed trading Chris Higgins for Scott Gomez AND Tom Pyatt was giving up too much:
Suck it.

To all those who criticized the signings of Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta because of their size:
Suck it.

To all those who thought that Hal Gill and Travis Moen were wastes of space DESPITE watching them play pivotal roles in previous cup runs:
Suck it big time.

Aaaaaaaaand to all those who said that Gainey never did enough, that he didn't know what he was doing, and that his revamp this year was a waste of time:
You folks can suck it the most out of all of them.

So on to the Second Round!

EAST

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #8 Montreal Canadiens Friday 7:00 PM
The Canadiens just came off of one of their most emotional series wins in recent memory, but they will have no break as they take on the defending cup champions. Pittsburgh is a complete team, and Sidney Crosby is playing his best hockey that we've ever seen. That's a scary thought.

#6 Boston Bruins vs. #7 Philadelphia Flyers Saturday 12:30 PM
A re-match of the 2010 Winter Classic, these two teams are tough, tenacious and surprise first round winners. I expect this series to be gritty, bloody, and totally awesome. Marc Savard is set to return to the ice for Game One for Boston while Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter are still out for Philly.

WEST

#1 San Jose Sharks vs. #5 Detroit Red Wings Thursday 9:00 PM
The Sharks are out to prove they can finally win in the Playoffs, the Wings are trying to prove they are still a major Hockey force. This series could go either way and should be full of impressive offensive performances. Look for San Jose's top line to step it up if they want to advance to the Western finals.

#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #3 Vancouver Canucks Saturday 8:00 PM
The Vancouver Canucks have nightmares of Patty Kane's hat trick on home ice that won the series for Chicago in 2009. If Roberto Luongo wants to silence his critics, he will have to be on the top of his game. The Canuck's superb swedes should have a interesting time playing against Chicago's vast arsenal of rough and tumble power forwards and Marian Hossa will be on a mission to finally capture that elusive Cup that he has gotten so close to the last two years.

So there you have it, the Canadiens are up against the world yet again. Many people will not give them a shot, but this series is a testament to not giving up hope and having faith in your team.
Peace TRUE believers,
E

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

GAME 7 PREVIEW

Judgement day.
The signings, trades, managerial changes all come down to tonight at 7. The best team in the League, the most explosive player, the best entourage of play makers, snipers and power forwards, all a game away from being eliminated by a team called too small, too weak and too injury prone to do anything. The Canadiens get a lot of crap from fans around the league, because of their um, eccentric fans, and the long and drawn out historic ceremonies. You know what, most of the time, they deserve your not so gentle ribbing, but to all Leaf and Sens fans, if we pull this win off, in the immortal words of Dale Doback and Brennen Huff from Step Brothers, just shut your mouth. Just, shut it.
Jaroslav Halak was truly spectacular in Game Six, and must be more than spectacular tonight. I feel that each time we play the Capitals, we need a one goal handicap to properly be even. It's only when we score the second goal do I feel any ease at all. The Canadiens have scored first in four of the six games, and will need to add a fifth time to their list tonight. There is room to have hope boys and girls, mad crazy hope, so get out there, put those annoying little flagfs up on your car and be a good Montrealer and break a window if they win. Second one was just a joke, but I could always use a new pair of shoes from Foot Locker...
Enjoy the game, and Go Habs Go
Peace True Believers,
E


Tuesday, April 27, 2010

One of the biggest games of the last ten years.

Wow.
I don't really know how else to start this post. I have never seen the Bell Centre more rocking, it must've been those darn towels. I have never seen the Habs come out with that fire throwing hit after hit at the Capitals. I have NEVER seen a Goaltender make 53 something saves look that easy. This was a game for the ages, it was a game that inspired the entire province and hopefully lights a fire under the tuchus of this Hockey Club. It might not have hit them yet, but they are 60 minutes away from beating the Washington Capitals. The big bad Washington Capitals who according to every poon-dit in the country, had won this series when it was still 3-1. Funny, I could have sworn this was a best of 7. I'm not celebrating, because Game 7 will be tougher than last night, the Capitals will have a sense of urgency and Alex Ovechkin will be a man on a mission. I can't tell you what our chances are on Wednesday night, but I will tell you this much; If Jaroslav Halak plays HALF as well as he did last night, if Gill and Gorges, the new Wonder Twins, continue to frustrate and bully Washington's sharp shooters AND if Mike Cammalleri, Tomas Plekanec and YES even the young Pernell Karl Subban can generate some good scoring chances, we have a shot.
A shot is better than nothing.
Enjoy today, brace yourselves for tomorrow.
Peace True Believers,
E

Monday, April 26, 2010

Playoff Recap and some juicy news.

The Playoffs are in full gear, heres a little recap of some of the first round match ups.

EAST
#1 Washington Capitals vs. #8 Montreal Canadiens WAS Leads 3-2
A series that surprisingly has gone to six games can go either way tonight, depending on the performance of Montreal's unsung heroes, like Hal Gill, Dominic Moore and Travis Moen.

#2 New Jersey Devils vs. #7 Philadelphia Flyers PHI Wins 4-1
Maybe a changing of the guard in the Atlantic Division, as Brian Boucher beat Martin Brodeur, no that's not a typo and the Devils looked very beatable.

#3 Buffalo Sabres vs. #6 Boston Bruins BOS Leads 3-2
Really a series I don't think much people are watching but has been entertaining and physical. Just look at Johnny Boychuk's absolute obliteration of Matt Ellis. Ryan Miller needs to play like Ryan Miller if the Sabres want to win this game.

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Ottawa Senators PIT Wins 4-2
Sidney Crosby is good. He is damn good. Senators made it interesting with Matt Carkner's 3rd Overtime winner in Game 5, but pooped the bed in Game 6 and blew a 3-0 lead. Pascal Dupuis' OT marker ended the Sens up and down season.

WEST
#1 San Jose Sharks vs. #8 Colorado Avalanche SJS Wins 4-2
The Sharks had their usual first round scare, SEE Dan Boyle scoring on his own net in Overtime. They pulled it all together and finished the depleted Avalanche in the third period of Game Six, with their Second line of Clowe - Pavelski - Setoguchi looking more like Heatley - Thornton -Marleau.

#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #7 Nashville Predators CHI Leads 3-2
Definitely the best series of the first round, two young Finnish goaltenders have staged great battles and the Pred's impotence on the PP finally came back to bite them in the heiney when the 'Hawks young guns staged a sick comeback and Marian Hossa, who escaped an almost inevitable suspension for his hit on Dan Hamhuis, won Game Five.

#3 Vancouver Canucks vs. #6 Los Angeles Kings VAN Wins 4-2
This was not as easy as it looked for Van City. Roberto Luongo was very beatable and the Kings showed why they are the team of the future in the NHL. Mikael Samuelsson was the superman of this series.

#4 Phoenix Coyotes vs. #5 Detroit Red Wings Series tied 3-3
Two springs ago after the Wings hoisted their 11th Cup, who would guess that Detroit would be playing in a game 7 against the owner-less Phoenix Coyotes? The NHL's Cinderella team will look to keep their dream season alive.

NOW HEEEEERE'S THE BIG SCOOP...
Tony Marinaro of TEAM 990 reported at 9:30 that P.K. Subban will be called up for tonight's game, this was followed up by a press release, about a minute before this blog was published. Subban has been outright dominant this year in the AHL and should work as hard as he can to keep this series alive and force a game 7. I'm not that fond of Tony but I gotta give him props for this huge call. I tuned in to his radio show, only to hear him complaining about the lack of Towels at playoff games this year.
Well, I guess you can't win em' all.

Enjoy the game.
Peace true believers,
E

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Where the hell have I been???

Well I don't know how many people still read this, but for the sake of keeping appearances I'm going to make a triumphant return to the world of blogging!
So since I've gone, the Canadiens were almost cemented into a 6th or 7th spot in the playoffs, only to lose it in the majority of their final games and clinch the 8th spot by only one point. They then generated mad hope by beating the President's Trophy Washington Capitals in Game One, only to lose the next three and be given up on. They then won a hard fought battle last night, and everyone's back on the hope bandwagon.
So what happens now?
Although a series win may be a mere pipe dream, there is no reason to not have faith in this team. With the strong goaltending from Jaro Halak that we saw, as well as the Defensive presence of Hall Gill and company there is no reason why we can't stretch this series to a game seven. At this point we just need to stay optimistic and make sure the Bell Centre crowd is electric to inspire the team.
Oh, and to the flag kid, if Alex Ovechkin sprays you with snow, do Montreal a favor and whack him in his Russian nuts with the pole.
Peace true believers,
E

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

One step away. Habs Isles preview.

Hopefully we will won't talk like Sylvester Stallone when this is all done.
Well after a year of injuries, goaltending controversies, trades and GM changes, the Canadiens can actually lock up a playoff spot tonight with a win against the New York Islanders and a New York Rangers loss. Coincidence that we need two New York teams to be defeated. Where's King Kong when you need him? All bets point to Jaro Halak being in net for the Habs tonight and all bets point to the Isles being a lose dangerous team with nothing to lose. The Canadiens will need to stop relying on Halak's sheer brilliance of late and create scoring chances from their top two lines, as fun as it was to see Ryan O'Byrne actually score goal. I am very excited for what this next month will bring if the Canadiens can clinch a spot, so of course fat has it that I will be out of the Contient for the next two weeks. Let's just say this, the Novotel Warsaw hotel better have a friggin' business center.
Enjoy the game, let's lock it up tonight.
Peace True Believers,
E

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Where the hell have I been?

Whattup.
Well the Canadiens sure have had an interesting streak of games since I last posted. If I had posted yesterday before the Flyers game, I might have been a little apocalyptic with my comments.
SEASON'S OVER! WE CAN'T BEAT THE 'CANES, WE SUCK HARDER THEN TIGER WOODS' MISTRESSES.
Maybe I wouldn't be that bad, but seriously guys, you couldn't score 2 goals. You let Carey Price out to dry, and to the fans who booed him, go lick the most inner fold of Ken Hitchcock's taint. Price puts in a decent effort game after game, and game after game he continues to be strung out like Liberace in Alabama.
But after last night, it's a little brighter in Montreal, and no, it's not because it is 25 and sunny outside.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves, a 1-0 win where a Flyer goal was disallowed and Jaro Halak needed to stand on his head was not my idea of a tone setting win. But those 2 points come in handy down this Playoff stretch.
Does this team have it in them to get to the post-season and do some damage? I don't know, only time will tell, but one thing's for sure if we have one weakness, and we have many, it sure as hell isn't Goaltending.
Peace True Believers,
E