Sunday, October 31, 2010

Back at it.

So I am back writing for you fine people,and I have a lot to cover since we blanked the Sens 3-0.
SOOOOO
Canadiens beat the Coyotes 3-2, Andrei Kostitsyn is looking like a talented chippy Belarussian and not a smelly, fat and lazy Belarussian. Gionta and Gomez do not score.
Canadiens beat the Islanders 5-3, Kostitsyn is still great, so is Pleks. Gionta and Gomez do not score.
Canadiens beat the Islanders 3-1, Alex Auld plays his first game and is great, AK an TP are still sick, Gionta and Gomez do not score.
AAAND FINALLY Canadiens lose to the Panthers 3-1, Markov comes back, Powerplay still stinks, Price gets outplayed by Vokoun, and of course...
Gionta and Gomez do not score.
So what conclusions can we draw from these games?
A) There is cautious optimism, actually, regular optimism in Montreal as the Habs are starting to come together and it is always nice when you start the season 7-3-1 and are first in your division.
B) Andrei Kostitsyn is back, Tomas Plekanec never left, and PK Subban is quietly leading all Rookie Defenders in points. Yay
C) Our second line is not clicking, Gionta and Gomez are playing with such offensive dynamos like Mathieu Darche and Travis Moen, while an offensively talented player like Lars Eller waits on the fourth line playing only ten minutes a game with one point so far this season. Definitely not a yay.

So I trust Jacques Martin, he's been in the league a long time and has paid dividends already here in Montreal, but this second line fiasco is something I cannot understand. They don't want Eller to develop in Hamilton because they believe he has NHL talent, but then do not give him enough ice time in the big leagues to develop into a top six forward. There are already rumblings from journalists like Bob "Big Head" MacKenzie who stated that Eller is looking like he will never be more than a third liner, I'm sure his opinion would not be the same if Eller had been playing with talented guys like Gomez and Gionta, or G-Love and Gio as they are known to their friends... True story about the G-Love thing.
The Canadiens play Columbus on Tuesday, they are a beatable team, the Canadiens have been playing well to anyone who says that the Habs should not be considered contenders because of the ease of their schedule should then also dismiss the beloved Toronto Maple Leafs who are "a great team" led by Phil Kessel "Hart Trophy Nominee" according to the wildly insightful Mike Brophy.
To Canadiens fans, ignore the haters, keep supporting the squad, and this will be a good year.
Peace
E

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Another double header.

Sorry for the laziness, history papers and being away from my computer will do that.
So let's recap what happened this week:
Habs lay an egg, play crappy, Price plays well. Canadiens lose 3-0
Habs play great, Andrei K pots two, Price plays well. Canadiens win 3-0
Can anyone guess what the stagnant force in these two games was? Not going to be an "I-TOLD-YOU-SO'ER" buuuuuuut...
Yeah.
Carey Price has answered the call and will be the major reason if the Canadiens have success this season, he has made the saves needed to win games, and has not been the cause of a loss, he has only kept the team in games. I'm not naive enough to think that he is going to win the Vezina, or the Hart, even though Jose Theodore did both in one year.. what was the league smoking that year...
The team is not blessed with explosive offensive juggernauts, but their first line has been dynamic and their second line finally broke through on the Powerplay with Benoit Pouliot doing what he did last year when he was on pace for a 30 goal year, being in front of the net and putting the puck in.
Next up is the Coyotes and though they should not be taken lightly, the Canadiens always have good success against them. Let's just hope Andrei Kostitsyn doesn't get annihilated like he did in 2008 when he lost all of his mojo. Be optimistic, as long as Price plays well, this team can contend.
Peace,
E

Sunday, October 17, 2010

A double header weekend.

Saturday morning after the Canadiens squeaked out a had fought win against Buffalo, I went to Habsinsideout and was greeted by a link to a Leafs blog, where they had an animation celebrating the longevity of Carey Price not having a home win. I brought up the simple point that the Maple Leafs had not won a playoff game on home ice in almost 6 times as long a wait, but I was refuted with "Blah Blah YOU booed Carey Price so don't defend him blah blah YOU burned a car after the Canadiens won a series and YOU booed the national anthem blah blah no actual refutation of the fact the Leafs haven't made the Playoffs since before Hurricane Katrina" I can deal with that to an extent, but now that Carey beat the Senators last night I can sleep easy without even worrying about those clowns. I am not against all Leaf fans, any fan who sticks by their team through crappy times deserve to be happy about a winning streak, but to those who Troll for the sake of trolling, then defend their trolling by shifting the focus to something else without any actual intelligent reasoning for it should have to drink a cup of Preston Lacy's sweat. (Jackass 3D reference sorry for the Spoiler).
The Canadiens are winning games, and their goaltender is keeping them in the ones they aren't. Tomas Plekanec is not letting the money get to his head, Andrei Kostitsyn is actually playing well albeit it is a contract year for him and Lars Eller is showing that Pierre Gauthier wasn't actually stoned on Pain killers when he traded for him.
To the real fans, this team can play.
To the trollers of the Hockey world, stop huffing house paint and get a life.
Bring on the Devils.
Peace,
E

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Well...

I got to my seats in the Desjardins section last night, armed with two hotdogs, a piece of pizza and a water bottle (gotta love free food) read for a triumphant victory to open the home season. I knew if we were to pull a win out, three things would need to happen.
1. Our best players would need to be our best players.
Pleks and Cammy put on a show while our second line couldn't get anything going.
Grade: B
2. Carey Price would need to play well.
If you haven't seen it yet, put down the crack pipe and give the guy some recognition
Grade:A+
3. Special Teams
Face palm.
Grade:Meh

I did not put down "lack of shoddy reffing" but we will get to that later.
The team let the game get away, when they were passing well it was beautiful to see, when they took penalty after penalty negating power play after futile power play, it was mind numbing. The Canadiens were able to hold on to a 3-2 lead with 2 minutes left and then came the Zebra defecation on the ice.
On further review it would look like PK Subban slashed the stick of the Lightning player, not his hand, it is tough to expect Referees to see a detail like that, but on the kill when Dustin Boyd was tripped in front of the net, nothing was called, and Steven Stamkos got a wide open net the idiots in the Molson Ex Zone obviously had enough. I am not a bottle throwing drunk off my ass buffoon, but you do not need to be one to be disgruntled at a call like that. There was a sinking feeling in the building as the team headed to overtime, and when Ryan Malone put in a rebound after Carey Price was yet again bombarded, we almost were not shocked anymore, as the game was lost the minute the score was equalized. The team needs to play better, Carey Price does not need more run support, but he needs the team behind him to field the ball better, and to get less errors. Sorry, we are still talking about Hockey.
On to Buffalo. On to Ryan Miller, a much better Goalie than Mike Smith.
GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER HABS
Peace,
E

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Time to stuff it. Candiens 3 Penguins 2

Can we all take a communal sigh of relief?
I know many of you turned off your TVs when the Canadiens were down 2-1 late in the third.
"0-2 start, should have never dealt Halak"
"Can't believe the Leafs are going to have 4 more poins than us"
"I didn't take my Cialis today, and that's why I'm unhappy"
All real reactions to the game, until the Canadiens decided to bite back.
Josh Gorges threw it on the net and it was tipped by the great Jewtalian, making his triumphant return from suspension and having a field day in Pittsburgh, where he tore up the Pens in the playoffs. Most of us would have been happy with us going into Overtime, but Scott Gomez or "G-Love" to his friends, snuck a puck through the wickets of Marc-Andre Fleury. You could see by MAF's reaction, it was a softie, but we will take it.
I know it is the second game in the season, but can the negativity end here?
Carey Price is a good goaltender, I cannot understand the people who argue that he shouldn't be starting. Have you SEEN the saves he made last night?
Be quiet, and thank Mr. Price for keeping us in the game last night.
Next up: The Canadiens open up their season at home against the Lightning, or should we say Montreal, Florida.
It will be interesting to see how former Habs like Dominic Moore, Guy Boucher and yes, even Dan Ellis do against us, along with Quebecois stars like Lecavalier, St. Louis and Gagne.
Oh, and they still have Stamkos.
Peace,
E

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Season starts on shaky foot.

Not the start we wanted, but it's an 82 game season. Great on the fans for not getting on Price's case, but seriously, just admit it was a bad game by the Habs.
Am I a bad fan because I state the obvious, that our team played crappy defensively, we did not capitalize on chances, and our power play stunk worse than Kristey Alley's thighs pre Jenny Craig?
No, I would be a bad fan if I blamed the entire thing on Price letting up the Clarke MacArthur goal, even though it was the only goal where there was some defensive help, and I wouldn't call Jaro Spacek letting the attacker skate by him politely as much defensive presence. I am not going to blame the loss on the lack of Hamrlik, Markov and Cammalleri, although it's a hefty load to lose. The score was close enough that the team that was iced should have been good enough to force OT and win the game.
I can say chill out, but I do not think that is the right thing to do.
Get ready for a season that it going to have several bumps, but keep watching, once this team comes together hopefully things get a lot better. I think they will.
Saturday night we take on the Pens, things do not get any easier.
Peace
E