Well, if they've got nothing else to distinguish them this year, the Canadiens are certainly outstanding for their weird sense of timing. First, Bob Gainey quit in the middle of the season, right before the trade deadline. Now his successor, Pierre Gauthier, has decided to kick half the scouting department to the curb with less than a month to go before the draft.
Yesterday, word began to leak out that Gauthier had fired amateur scouts Denis Morel, Dave Mayville, Pelle Eklund, Nikolai Vakourov, Antonin Routa, and pro scout Gordie Roberts. There are a lot of questions about why, and why now, that we need to have Gauthier address as soon as possible.
Speculation about the "why" part is rife right now, splitting between a couple theories. The more encouraging of the two is that the team's brass has realized their first-round picks are nowhere near the quality of those made by the top-flight clubs against which the Habs are competing. In that case, one would assume Gauthier is attempting to fix the problem by dumping some scouts in preparation for bringing in people he believes are better at the job.
More worrisome is the other theory about why those guys got the axe. There's a worm of doubt among fans about Gauthier's interest in the bottom line and the Molsons' desire to save money by cutting costs like scouts salaries and travel expenses. I really hope this isn't the case. The last time the Molsons owned the team, they scrimped and saved and the result was the trading of high-priced players in favour of less-talented, cheaper ones, and bad drafting by a skeleton crew. I certainly hope owners who just made two rounds of playoff bonus money they weren't expecting, and already announced higher ticket prices for next year, aren't trying to go cheap on the scouting department. Success in today's NHL is built on the draft and it's the place where a team serious about winning should be spending the most money.
I hope there's an announcement shortly that the team has hired a good bunch of people to replace them. There's certainly room for improvement. Morel, the former NHL ref, was responsible for scouting Quebec and, although there haven't been a great number of Quebecers taken in recent drafts overall, the Habs have missed most of them. Vakourov was the Russian scout, and although he spotted the talent, few of the players came over to North America, while those that have made the leap have struggled. His sacking might be an indication of the Habs general frustration with Russian players and intention to stay away from them, regardless of talent. Whatever the reasons behind the choices of guys who won't get their contracts renewed, however, the Habs need more scouts, not less.
It's the "why now" part that has me really worried. The team isn't renewing the scouts' contracts which run out at the end of June. So, we have to assume that Gauthier is going to continue to use their advice for this year's draft, even though they're getting cut loose. It doesn't give me great hope for this draft, if the guys responsible for the Habs' picks are leaving right afterwards because the they're not very good at their jobs. If, on the other hand, they are good at their jobs and they're getting turfed because the owners want to cut costs, well, that's bad too. How dedicated are those guys going to be in the weeks leading up to the draft when they know their jobs are gone, regardless? Either way, there's reason to be concerned about the Habs' chances of uncovering a gem in this draft, and, if money's at the root of this decision, in the coming years as well.
I know there are other scouts in the organization, but I don't want this to be the herald of the kind of penny-pinching we saw from the owners in the pre-Gillett years. Smaller scouting staffs in today's NHL aren't a good thing, no matter what the reason for them. So, while the timing of this announcement is odd, I hope there's at least an explanation...and preferably some new hires in the scouting department...coming before the clock strikes twelve on the Habs development system.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Offseason Tweaks: The Goalies
For most of the media who follow hockey, the Montreal Canadiens are reprising "Sophie's Choice" this summer, with Pierre Gauthier in the Meryl Streep role. Jaroslav Halak versus Carey Price has been raging in the media and among fans all year, and many believe Gauthier has to make his choice by draft day.
The three biggest reasons why most people believe a choice is inevitable are: 1) It's too expensive to keep both of them, 2) Both of them want to be number-one goalies and don't want to share the net in tandem fashion again next year, and 3) One of them would be great trade bait to use in strengthening a weaker position on the team.
I don't buy those reasons.
First, If Halak is offered the three million or so I'm expecting to see him make next year, he still needs a backup. A reputable, reliable backup is going to cost about a million, to a million and a half. There's no way the Habs are going to come in much under 4.5 or 5 million for two goalies, regardless of whether they keep Price, so trading him for cap savings doesn't make sense. It's conceivable Halak could be traded for cap reasons, as he's got the better numbers right now, and, as we know, the NHL is all about "what have you done for me lately." Because of that philosophy, Halak stands to make more money this summer, so, would be a better salary dump if it came down to that. The question is, how much more important is it to save money than to ensure your netminding is secure? It's very tough to buy reliable goaltending for less than five million, and the Habs have an opportunity to do that.
Second, although both goalies have made it clear to management that they believe they're number-one netminders, the fact is, only Halak has proven he can back up those words so far. He's older, more experienced and has performed better under pressure. He has played himself into the number-one goalie position, and, for now, Price has slid into the backup job. Halak also has the greater leverage in negotiations right now, with his right to take the team to salary arbitration. He has earned himself the right to be considered first when it contract time rolls around. Price may believe he's good enough to be a number-one goalie, and, in a couple of years he may very well live up to that belief. Right now, however, he has proven to be inconsistent; all-star quality one night, a sieve who smashes his stick in frustration the next. His numbers for the last two seasons have been decent, but his performances have been inconsistent. In short, he's not in a position to demand anything. He's a restricted free agent, and his immediate future is still in the hands of Pierre Gauthier...early-career hype notwithstanding.
Third, the trade value of goalies isn't great and hasn't been since the lockout. The things the Canadiens need: a tough, mobile defenceman with a heavy point shot who's good in his own end, a big, gritty two-way centre, or a scoring winger with some size, are things every team needs. The thing is, when it comes to trading a player like that, very few teams will do it unless they get something comparable in return. There's always the idea that there are other ways to get a goalie. There are more experienced netminders out there than NHL jobs, and when a cap-pressured GM has to decide if he'll go cheap on defence or in goal, he'll almost always choose bargain shopping for the backstop.
So, I don't think the common reasons why the Habs need to dump a goalie are good ones. The reasons why they don't are much more compelling. The money saved, as already argued, wouldn't be great. The trade return stands a good chance of being of less value to another position on the team than the goalies already are in theirs. Most importantly, however, is the basic fact that there's not enough evidence one way or the other to definitively decide who should stay and who should go.
Halak has been the little goalie who could at every level of hockey, and he ably demonstrated his competitive nature again in this year's playoffs. He's earned respect and a place with the Habs. But (there's always a "but") next year, goalie equipment shrinks to be size-specific for each guy. A player like Price, who's already wearing larger equipment because he's a big man, won't feel too much difference. Halak, however, being a smaller guy who'll now no longer be able to compensate by wearing bigger gear, might. I don't necessarily believe it'll be a big deal, but what if it is? What if those few inches leave just that little bit more net open for snipers to take advantage of?
Then there's Price. He's got the size, the skills and the expectation of greatness on his side. He's never shown he's got the mental toughness to be the number-one guy in an NHL net...yet. But what if he gets it together in the next year or two? He's not that far from finding consistency, and if he does, he's going to be really good.
There are still questions about both goalies; enough to keep both of them around long enough to see them answered. There's no huge pressure on Gauthier to move one of them right now. I'd like to see him offer both goalies two-year deals, with the understanding that, barring injury, one of them will win the job long-term and the other will be traded next summer. That way, a lot of questions will be answered and the extra year on their contracts raises their trade value.
Of course, this all flies out the window if a really fabulous trade offer comes along, but how often does that happen? Unless it does, both goalies should stay.
Meryl Streep never had it so easy.
The three biggest reasons why most people believe a choice is inevitable are: 1) It's too expensive to keep both of them, 2) Both of them want to be number-one goalies and don't want to share the net in tandem fashion again next year, and 3) One of them would be great trade bait to use in strengthening a weaker position on the team.
I don't buy those reasons.
First, If Halak is offered the three million or so I'm expecting to see him make next year, he still needs a backup. A reputable, reliable backup is going to cost about a million, to a million and a half. There's no way the Habs are going to come in much under 4.5 or 5 million for two goalies, regardless of whether they keep Price, so trading him for cap savings doesn't make sense. It's conceivable Halak could be traded for cap reasons, as he's got the better numbers right now, and, as we know, the NHL is all about "what have you done for me lately." Because of that philosophy, Halak stands to make more money this summer, so, would be a better salary dump if it came down to that. The question is, how much more important is it to save money than to ensure your netminding is secure? It's very tough to buy reliable goaltending for less than five million, and the Habs have an opportunity to do that.
Second, although both goalies have made it clear to management that they believe they're number-one netminders, the fact is, only Halak has proven he can back up those words so far. He's older, more experienced and has performed better under pressure. He has played himself into the number-one goalie position, and, for now, Price has slid into the backup job. Halak also has the greater leverage in negotiations right now, with his right to take the team to salary arbitration. He has earned himself the right to be considered first when it contract time rolls around. Price may believe he's good enough to be a number-one goalie, and, in a couple of years he may very well live up to that belief. Right now, however, he has proven to be inconsistent; all-star quality one night, a sieve who smashes his stick in frustration the next. His numbers for the last two seasons have been decent, but his performances have been inconsistent. In short, he's not in a position to demand anything. He's a restricted free agent, and his immediate future is still in the hands of Pierre Gauthier...early-career hype notwithstanding.
Third, the trade value of goalies isn't great and hasn't been since the lockout. The things the Canadiens need: a tough, mobile defenceman with a heavy point shot who's good in his own end, a big, gritty two-way centre, or a scoring winger with some size, are things every team needs. The thing is, when it comes to trading a player like that, very few teams will do it unless they get something comparable in return. There's always the idea that there are other ways to get a goalie. There are more experienced netminders out there than NHL jobs, and when a cap-pressured GM has to decide if he'll go cheap on defence or in goal, he'll almost always choose bargain shopping for the backstop.
So, I don't think the common reasons why the Habs need to dump a goalie are good ones. The reasons why they don't are much more compelling. The money saved, as already argued, wouldn't be great. The trade return stands a good chance of being of less value to another position on the team than the goalies already are in theirs. Most importantly, however, is the basic fact that there's not enough evidence one way or the other to definitively decide who should stay and who should go.
Halak has been the little goalie who could at every level of hockey, and he ably demonstrated his competitive nature again in this year's playoffs. He's earned respect and a place with the Habs. But (there's always a "but") next year, goalie equipment shrinks to be size-specific for each guy. A player like Price, who's already wearing larger equipment because he's a big man, won't feel too much difference. Halak, however, being a smaller guy who'll now no longer be able to compensate by wearing bigger gear, might. I don't necessarily believe it'll be a big deal, but what if it is? What if those few inches leave just that little bit more net open for snipers to take advantage of?
Then there's Price. He's got the size, the skills and the expectation of greatness on his side. He's never shown he's got the mental toughness to be the number-one guy in an NHL net...yet. But what if he gets it together in the next year or two? He's not that far from finding consistency, and if he does, he's going to be really good.
There are still questions about both goalies; enough to keep both of them around long enough to see them answered. There's no huge pressure on Gauthier to move one of them right now. I'd like to see him offer both goalies two-year deals, with the understanding that, barring injury, one of them will win the job long-term and the other will be traded next summer. That way, a lot of questions will be answered and the extra year on their contracts raises their trade value.
Of course, this all flies out the window if a really fabulous trade offer comes along, but how often does that happen? Unless it does, both goalies should stay.
Meryl Streep never had it so easy.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Farmboys and Combines
I think the most distateful of the distasteful things about the business of the NHL is the draft combine. The spectacle of a bunch of seventeen and eighteen-year-old boys grunting and sweating through a battery of physical tests, some excruciatingly difficult, that may or may not have anything at all to do with their ability to play hockey, while an equal bunch of fat, middle-aged men ogle their every move is just...distasteful.
I get the interview part. Meeting a boy face-to-face and finding out about his opinions and his attitude while reading his expression can tell you something about whether the kid is at least determined to make a go of it in hockey. I think about Josh Gorges when I see the criteria at the combine. He was never drafted, and maybe wouldn't have fared well against some of the studs in the physical testing. I think, though, if a GM had sat and interviewed him when he was eighteen, he might have heard his name called on draft day. Even the interview part, though, isn't an ironclad indicator of how a kid will progress. How many of us wince when we think about things we did and said at eighteen? Kids grow up, and basing their futures on performances while they're still immature just isn't fair.
The physical test part is silly. Boys at that age are still growing and putting the pressure on them to be ripped beasts encourages too much time in the gym and the temptation to dope themselves to get bigger and stronger. I can see the value of drafting a naturally big, strong kid who also has hockey skills. But I think the combine puts an inordinate amount of value on size, and pressure on kids to attain it. Size alone, of course, means nothing. Look at Shawn Belle: big, strong, fast; physically impressive. Yet, after being picked in the first round of a great 2003 draft, he's never been able to establish himself in the NHL.
The draft, at the best of times, is a crapshoot. The top players get chosen, regardless of their combine performance. Seriously, can you imagine the Oilers passing on Taylor Hall because he's hurt and can't demonstrate how many sit-ups he can do? I wonder how guys like Gretzky, or Lafleur, would have done in the combine and if it would have affected the way they were viewed as players? So, the combine is really for the lower-ranked players who may or may not pan out as actual hockey players, regardless of their physical abilities in those tests.
The whole event is uncomfortable for the players, and kind of creepy for the amount of slavish interest paid it by the sports networks. It makes me think of what it must have been like for the poor men on the docks of Waterford a couple of centuries ago, who sold themselves into indentured servitude for seven years in exchange for passage to America. That's really what the draft is, after all. Eighteen-year-old boys owe their professional rights and allegiences to whatever team drafts them. They have little choice in the matter if they want to play, and if it takes seven years of indentured servitude and putting up with the draft combine to forge themselves a career in hockey, they'll do it.
I just find the whole thing tastes pretty sour.
I get the interview part. Meeting a boy face-to-face and finding out about his opinions and his attitude while reading his expression can tell you something about whether the kid is at least determined to make a go of it in hockey. I think about Josh Gorges when I see the criteria at the combine. He was never drafted, and maybe wouldn't have fared well against some of the studs in the physical testing. I think, though, if a GM had sat and interviewed him when he was eighteen, he might have heard his name called on draft day. Even the interview part, though, isn't an ironclad indicator of how a kid will progress. How many of us wince when we think about things we did and said at eighteen? Kids grow up, and basing their futures on performances while they're still immature just isn't fair.
The physical test part is silly. Boys at that age are still growing and putting the pressure on them to be ripped beasts encourages too much time in the gym and the temptation to dope themselves to get bigger and stronger. I can see the value of drafting a naturally big, strong kid who also has hockey skills. But I think the combine puts an inordinate amount of value on size, and pressure on kids to attain it. Size alone, of course, means nothing. Look at Shawn Belle: big, strong, fast; physically impressive. Yet, after being picked in the first round of a great 2003 draft, he's never been able to establish himself in the NHL.
The draft, at the best of times, is a crapshoot. The top players get chosen, regardless of their combine performance. Seriously, can you imagine the Oilers passing on Taylor Hall because he's hurt and can't demonstrate how many sit-ups he can do? I wonder how guys like Gretzky, or Lafleur, would have done in the combine and if it would have affected the way they were viewed as players? So, the combine is really for the lower-ranked players who may or may not pan out as actual hockey players, regardless of their physical abilities in those tests.
The whole event is uncomfortable for the players, and kind of creepy for the amount of slavish interest paid it by the sports networks. It makes me think of what it must have been like for the poor men on the docks of Waterford a couple of centuries ago, who sold themselves into indentured servitude for seven years in exchange for passage to America. That's really what the draft is, after all. Eighteen-year-old boys owe their professional rights and allegiences to whatever team drafts them. They have little choice in the matter if they want to play, and if it takes seven years of indentured servitude and putting up with the draft combine to forge themselves a career in hockey, they'll do it.
I just find the whole thing tastes pretty sour.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Thanks, Everyone
I'd like to thank all of you for reading here this year, and for contributing to the discussion with your thoughtful comments. I've been writing about the Habs in one way or another since I was about twelve, so I'd be doing this blog regardless of whether anybody read it or not. It's just so much more fun to know you're out there enjoying it with me! So, thanks. I'll be updating regularly throughout the off-season, so stay tuned, and throw out your comments if the spirit moves you.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
A Note of Appreciation
I was thinking a lot today about what the Habs have given us, their fans, this season. I know it's something significant and something (hopefully) long-lasting, but also something hard to define. It's not the redemption of an up-and-down season by a great playoff run, although that's definitely something for which to be grateful. It's not the joyful moments either, or the pride we feel in their effort, even if those things are honest and good. I thought a long time about what this gift really is and how to articulate it, and I think it's something deeper.
The best way I can put it is to say they've given us back a culture of respectability. It's not the culture of winning in which the team was once steeped, but it's something as important in its own way.
For too long a part of the last two decades, the Canadiens have been ridiculous. (And I mean that in the original sense of the word; not in the way the cool kids use it.) They've been a bad hockey team with fans who take a great deal of overblown pride in a history most of them have never witnessed. They've been losing on the ice while the team's marketing department pushed the legends and the accomplishments of the past at us, sheepishly brushing the ineffective group currently wearing the CH under the red ceremonial carpet. Worst of all, where once the Canadiens were the envy of other teams' fans in a miserable, grudging way, years of failure brought them down from their Olympus to wallow in the mud like everybody else. Other fans loved the decline, and they laughed at us for supporting a team of losers. Our only response when faced with the truth of their taunts was "Yeah, well, our team still has 24 Stanley Cups." Pitiful, and ridiculous.
That started to change when Bob Gainey returned to Montreal. He arrived with nothing on the farm and little on the NHL roster worth salvaging. When he took over in 2003, the Habs had missed the playoffs four of the previous five years. Gainey's arrival brought an aura of honesty and good sense back to the organization, just because of his own stellar reputation in the hockey world. He slowly turned things around on the ice too, although not dramatically enough to make the team a Cup favourite.
In the last five years, the Habs have been a playoff team in all but one. The conference title two years ago surprised everyone and made people start to think maybe they should take the Habs seriously again. Last year's first-round sweep by the Bruins could have been a setback in the renewed image of competitiveness Gainey was trying to create for the organization, if he'd let the culture that lead to that sweep continue to fester. He didn't, though. He started over with the kinds of players whose characters matched their skills. Whether he lucked into some of the good moves he made or not, he deserves our appreciation for dragging the Habs out of the ranks of the ridiculous.
It's the group of players he pulled together last summer who have really solidified the team's transformation, however. They've been professional, hard-working and deserving of respect all throughout this playoff run. Proving heart can win games even when it's not housed in the bodies of a lot of superstars has given the team back its dignity.
I'm sad the run is over. I really hoped they'd be able to pull it off and meet the Hawks in the finals. But under the sadness is a sense of deep satisfaction that the move toward respectability started by Gainey has been greatly advanced by this playoff run. Respectability may be regarded as a small thing, but I believe it's an essential state to achieve before a team becomes a winner. If a team is respectable, free agent players want to be part of it. If it's respectable, its members can be proud of their effort even in defeat. Fans can smile and say, yes, that's my team. It's in the playoffs every year and the men wearing its sweater leave everything on the ice when it really matters.
This playoff, when viewed as part of an upward trend in on-ice success overall, has made the Habs relevant again. It means the players will have to come back in October and pick up where they've left off this season. For now though, they, and we, can feel no shame. They've done their best to make our team respectable and for that, I thank them.
The best way I can put it is to say they've given us back a culture of respectability. It's not the culture of winning in which the team was once steeped, but it's something as important in its own way.
For too long a part of the last two decades, the Canadiens have been ridiculous. (And I mean that in the original sense of the word; not in the way the cool kids use it.) They've been a bad hockey team with fans who take a great deal of overblown pride in a history most of them have never witnessed. They've been losing on the ice while the team's marketing department pushed the legends and the accomplishments of the past at us, sheepishly brushing the ineffective group currently wearing the CH under the red ceremonial carpet. Worst of all, where once the Canadiens were the envy of other teams' fans in a miserable, grudging way, years of failure brought them down from their Olympus to wallow in the mud like everybody else. Other fans loved the decline, and they laughed at us for supporting a team of losers. Our only response when faced with the truth of their taunts was "Yeah, well, our team still has 24 Stanley Cups." Pitiful, and ridiculous.
That started to change when Bob Gainey returned to Montreal. He arrived with nothing on the farm and little on the NHL roster worth salvaging. When he took over in 2003, the Habs had missed the playoffs four of the previous five years. Gainey's arrival brought an aura of honesty and good sense back to the organization, just because of his own stellar reputation in the hockey world. He slowly turned things around on the ice too, although not dramatically enough to make the team a Cup favourite.
In the last five years, the Habs have been a playoff team in all but one. The conference title two years ago surprised everyone and made people start to think maybe they should take the Habs seriously again. Last year's first-round sweep by the Bruins could have been a setback in the renewed image of competitiveness Gainey was trying to create for the organization, if he'd let the culture that lead to that sweep continue to fester. He didn't, though. He started over with the kinds of players whose characters matched their skills. Whether he lucked into some of the good moves he made or not, he deserves our appreciation for dragging the Habs out of the ranks of the ridiculous.
It's the group of players he pulled together last summer who have really solidified the team's transformation, however. They've been professional, hard-working and deserving of respect all throughout this playoff run. Proving heart can win games even when it's not housed in the bodies of a lot of superstars has given the team back its dignity.
I'm sad the run is over. I really hoped they'd be able to pull it off and meet the Hawks in the finals. But under the sadness is a sense of deep satisfaction that the move toward respectability started by Gainey has been greatly advanced by this playoff run. Respectability may be regarded as a small thing, but I believe it's an essential state to achieve before a team becomes a winner. If a team is respectable, free agent players want to be part of it. If it's respectable, its members can be proud of their effort even in defeat. Fans can smile and say, yes, that's my team. It's in the playoffs every year and the men wearing its sweater leave everything on the ice when it really matters.
This playoff, when viewed as part of an upward trend in on-ice success overall, has made the Habs relevant again. It means the players will have to come back in October and pick up where they've left off this season. For now though, they, and we, can feel no shame. They've done their best to make our team respectable and for that, I thank them.
Monday, May 24, 2010
The End
I hope Pronger accidentally falls and puts the Wales Trophy (whatever they call it now) up his arse.
Habs vs. Flyers Game Five: Rock Me, Cammalleri
Notes on the third:
-I'm really not paying much attention to the play off the top. I'm busy toasting Habs who did well.
-Remember when the Habs used to score?
-Halak has stopped about nine breakaways in this game. He's got the big, clanking balls we like to see signed long term.
-Oh wow! Gomez, apparently, has a shot! It's like finding out Barbie has a penis, but I'll take it.
-Bergeron is a waste of oxygen in this game. And, when you consider oxygen is a very common gas in the atmosphere, you'll understand what a serious waste Bergeron is.
-The call on Metro was bull. If you thought it was bull when you watched it live, you were right.
Notes on the second:
-You know what I hate? The sterile rink names these days. I know Flyers fans will always be assholes, but they had some cachet when they were being assholes in The Spectrum. In the Wachovia Centre, they're just garden tools. And, you just know this shit wouldn't be going down in the Forum.
-Fallout Boy makes the giant giveaway on the Flyers second goal, and Pouliot lets Richards go on their third. Upgrade on the wings, anyone? At least in terms of friggin' brains?
-When Darche and Moen are on your top lines, there's a serious depth issue.
-The refs are WAY too quick on the too-many-men penalties. The extra man for the Habs was within a foot of the bench, going off, when that call was made.
-How come Montreal PPs seem to fly and Philly ones go on for hours?
-I guess Martin will be wiping his butt with the lucky tie tomorrow?
-I hate the Flyers and their fans, but it doesn't matter if the team is better than the rest of the opponents the Habs faced. It matters that they're better than the Habs, and they DO play that style our guys can't handle.
-I've opened my end-of-playoff champagne because this is the night. But, it was a helluva run.
Notes on the first:
-Gio! No shutout tonight, Leighton!
-If this is the last game of the year, at least we won't have to look at Bergeron be steamrolled off the puck on the point ever again.
-Bloody hell. This team has no luck. I've been saying all year Jaro would pay for those huge rushes out of the net after loose pucks, but what a time to pay!
-Flyers are throwing all kinds of breakaway passes between Gorges and Gill, and it's working.
-They've been good on the PK without Gorges and Pyatt tonight. I'm actually more scared of the PP than I am about the PK right now.
-Wow, Halak on Asham was a game-saver. If they were paying him by the save, he'd be taking home his money in gold nuggets.
-Not a bad period, but the lack of success on faceoffs and in winning along the boards is going to hurt them.
Pre-game notes:
-So maybe his actual wording was lost in translation, but CKAC is reporting today that Pleks is calling a win tonight. That's either the ballsiest thing he's ever done or the dumbest.
-My new theory on what's wrong with Andrei Kostitsyn: He's actually Fallout Boy. He was born just before the Chernobyl melt-down belched tons of radioactive waste on his country, killing brain cells all over the place. The dumb look and inability to think more quickly than the speed of darkness might not really be his fault.
-Cammy's loose. His twitter comments are making fun of Spacek's pants.
-I want to be just zen about this game because it's been a great run and there's no shame in being the last team standing outside the Finals. I can't though. I want it because I hate the Flyers so, so much.
-Two things for tonight: don't get shut out, and don't give those bloody Flyers fans anything to Ole about. Oh, and no dumbass penalties to suck the life out of the team before it gets going.
-The importance of the first goal is true for every team, but for the Habs it's the difference between life and elimination.
-I'm really not paying much attention to the play off the top. I'm busy toasting Habs who did well.
-Remember when the Habs used to score?
-Halak has stopped about nine breakaways in this game. He's got the big, clanking balls we like to see signed long term.
-Oh wow! Gomez, apparently, has a shot! It's like finding out Barbie has a penis, but I'll take it.
-Bergeron is a waste of oxygen in this game. And, when you consider oxygen is a very common gas in the atmosphere, you'll understand what a serious waste Bergeron is.
-The call on Metro was bull. If you thought it was bull when you watched it live, you were right.
Notes on the second:
-You know what I hate? The sterile rink names these days. I know Flyers fans will always be assholes, but they had some cachet when they were being assholes in The Spectrum. In the Wachovia Centre, they're just garden tools. And, you just know this shit wouldn't be going down in the Forum.
-Fallout Boy makes the giant giveaway on the Flyers second goal, and Pouliot lets Richards go on their third. Upgrade on the wings, anyone? At least in terms of friggin' brains?
-When Darche and Moen are on your top lines, there's a serious depth issue.
-The refs are WAY too quick on the too-many-men penalties. The extra man for the Habs was within a foot of the bench, going off, when that call was made.
-How come Montreal PPs seem to fly and Philly ones go on for hours?
-I guess Martin will be wiping his butt with the lucky tie tomorrow?
-I hate the Flyers and their fans, but it doesn't matter if the team is better than the rest of the opponents the Habs faced. It matters that they're better than the Habs, and they DO play that style our guys can't handle.
-I've opened my end-of-playoff champagne because this is the night. But, it was a helluva run.
Notes on the first:
-Gio! No shutout tonight, Leighton!
-If this is the last game of the year, at least we won't have to look at Bergeron be steamrolled off the puck on the point ever again.
-Bloody hell. This team has no luck. I've been saying all year Jaro would pay for those huge rushes out of the net after loose pucks, but what a time to pay!
-Flyers are throwing all kinds of breakaway passes between Gorges and Gill, and it's working.
-They've been good on the PK without Gorges and Pyatt tonight. I'm actually more scared of the PP than I am about the PK right now.
-Wow, Halak on Asham was a game-saver. If they were paying him by the save, he'd be taking home his money in gold nuggets.
-Not a bad period, but the lack of success on faceoffs and in winning along the boards is going to hurt them.
Pre-game notes:
-So maybe his actual wording was lost in translation, but CKAC is reporting today that Pleks is calling a win tonight. That's either the ballsiest thing he's ever done or the dumbest.
-My new theory on what's wrong with Andrei Kostitsyn: He's actually Fallout Boy. He was born just before the Chernobyl melt-down belched tons of radioactive waste on his country, killing brain cells all over the place. The dumb look and inability to think more quickly than the speed of darkness might not really be his fault.
-Cammy's loose. His twitter comments are making fun of Spacek's pants.
-I want to be just zen about this game because it's been a great run and there's no shame in being the last team standing outside the Finals. I can't though. I want it because I hate the Flyers so, so much.
-Two things for tonight: don't get shut out, and don't give those bloody Flyers fans anything to Ole about. Oh, and no dumbass penalties to suck the life out of the team before it gets going.
-The importance of the first goal is true for every team, but for the Habs it's the difference between life and elimination.
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