Habs vs. Kings - Royal Flush Edition

Notes on the third:

-Anaheim got shut out tonight. Want to bet that won't happen tomorrow? I can hear Saku rubbing his hands together in anticipation from here.

-What's with Ron McLean and the Oscar references? Is he actually getting paid by the committee, or does he just want to let us know he's got more time to watch movies than the rest of us? I can hear him rubbing his...oh, never mind.

-Uh oh. The three stars are sponsored by Crown Royal. "For every star a King?" Hmmm...don't like the sound of that.

-How could Pouliot have been so brutal in Minny? Really, were they blind?

-I really, really like Kevin Weekes' colour, but "Canadi-ENS" is bugging me.

-Watching Modin and Halpern, I wonder what drives players who get traded at the deadline? It can't be deep loyalty to their new teams. I suspect it's more of a "screw you" to their old ones.

-I know Gill is valuable on the PK and I shouldn't criticize him because of that, but honestly, I think he should be in the Guiness Book of World Records for the tallest pile of jello pudding when it comes to his play on the boards.

-Oh lord. They're doing the "let's sit back and protect our lead with our stellar defensive play" thing. I'm thinking of taking back the credit I gave Martin last period. He's also failing in the line matchups. He deliberately put the third line out against the Kings' first, when the first-on-first matchup had worked beautifully in the first two periods.

-Sergei can pass, but sometimes when it comes to hockey sense, he's like the kid who spent grade twelve in detention.

-I wonder if the Rocket rolls over in his grave when St.Pierre tells him the Habs are fighting for a playoff spot with Tampa and Atlanta?

-Best line on CBC all night, on a Pleks clear: "Draw weight to the line." Perfect.

-Pleks!!! First point in five games and the announcers sound desperately disappointed.

-Great game. I hope they've got something left for tomorrow.



Notes on the second:

-One of the most maddening things about the Habs (yeah, I know I'm just picking one off the list) is their frequent failure to clear the puck when they've got possession in their own end. There's no excuse for that, except impatience and/or panic.

-Markov might be having mobility problems at the moment, but it hasn't affected his fabulous vision. What a nice pass to Pleks to set up the two-on-one with Moen.

-Speaking of Moen, it would be wrong to say he's got hands of stone. They're more like wooden blocks: rough, splintery and without opposable thumbs.

-Another thing I hate about modern NHL rinks is the "you've been a bad boy" Big Ben chimes whenever the opposing team takes a penalty.

-Whoa, if Price or Halak had allowed that Moore shorty, fans would be heating up the tar and plucking the chickens now.

-I think Drew Doughty is my favourite non-Hab in the league.

-Josh Gorges is such a solid D-man. It's so rare for him to be caught out in his own end.

-I really wish the NHL would adopt no-touch icing. The occasional thrilling race for the puck is negated by the number of stupid injuries that happen when defencemen have to take head-on collisions to touch first.

-Okay, Weekes said Brown initiated the contact on the Markov interference penalty. Can someone explain why, then, that's actually interference?

-I have to give Martin a little bit of credit. He's adjusted The System a bit, and has the wingers in motion a lot more than we used to see earlier in the year. He also seems to have informed Gill the "defence should pinch" rule doesn't apply to him.

-Stupid penalties again tonight. Maybe the Habs keep drafting college guys because they're hoping to get smarter. It's no wonder Pleks looks tired. What other team's leading scorer also kills all of its penalties?

-Great. Hammer's nailing his own guys now.

-Nice period. One more like that would be loverly.



Notes on the first:

-Beautiful start. Reminded me of Bryzgalov's comment about Team Canada in the Olympic quarter-final game: They came out like gorillas out of a cage. Now, if only they don't turn into a bunch of monkeys before this ends.

-Hate the the logo on the Kings' sweaters. It looks like advertising for an IT company. Or the flag of a former Soviet republic.

-Markov's 600th game tonight. I think that qualifies him for his own room on the road.

-So, if Lapierre's suspended, does he have to go home, or does he get to hang out on the beaches while the team toils on the ice?

-I like having Weekes' commentary on the goalies. For once, there's some nice insight that's not clouded by stupidity or bias on HNIC.

-Gomez is flying like the shuttle tonight.

-I don't care how many goals Lats scores in Minny. I never liked him like I like Pouliot. Young Ben's got to work on improving the neutral-zone giveaways though. They're his biggest weakness.

-O'Byrne did his job in that fight. All he had to do was not lose it and give the Kings something to get excited about.

-I wonder how different Spacek's season would have been if he hadn't had to play on his wrong side all year?

-Plekanec reminds me of an hourglass. The sand has been slowly trickling lower all year, and he's almost empty. I hope someone flips him over in time for the playoffs.

-One thing I like about Moore is he shoots the puck. The Habs really need Moore shots.

-Imagine if the Habs had taken Kopitar instead of Price? We shouldn't look back, I know, but wow.

-I really, really hate that LA goal horn. It sounds like a rusty foghorn with a touch of nails on blackboard.

-It would have been great to come out of that with the lead, but the Habs are moving the puck well and using their speed. They need to do it for forty more.