Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Habs vs. Sabres - Buffalo Burger Edition

Notes on the third:

-You know, I've been complaining that the Habs don't shoot enough because they're ranked second-last in the league in that category, but now I think they're only in that position because half the shots they take miss the net and don't count in the stats.

-Moore's been trumps on the draw. Aces on the forecheck too.

-Cammalleri doesn't look like he's missed a moment. MAB's fading as the game goes on.

-Sergei Kostitsyn is just so slick with puck distribution, I wonder what he'd look like centering a couple of good shooters.

-Weird. I just noticed Price is wearing the Centennial goalie mask. I thought he put that one up for auction. Maybe nobody bid on it?

-I can't stand this. Hockey gives and hockey takes away. The Habs own the entire game and blow it with three minutes to go. That's cosmic payback for the Anaheim game they stole.

-You just knew when the Habs got the first four PPs of the game that the make-up calls would come back to haunt them. This tastes like ashes.

-Price looked so rusty in the shootout that if you fell on him, you'd have to get a tetanus shot. He played well up overall though.

Notes on the second:

-Bergeron's goofy smile makes him look like he could be the understudy for the simpleton brother in "My Name Is Earl." He's playing a solid fourth-line game though.

-Usually you don't see Markov being the weak link on the PP, but he's not looking like his usual dominating self so far.

-Boy, when AK wakes up, he wakes up like a sleepwalker in a thunder storm.

-Moore finds the image of himself playing footie with the puck on the big screen hilarious.

-I hate to point out a single guy's weak points, but it seems as though every time I see the Habs struggling to clear the puck, I can see Gill in the middle of the ice, spinning around like a blind ballet dancer.

-What an idiotic penalty by Price. I hate the trapezoid too, but you had to know the refs were waiting for something to call and Price gave them a gift.

-AH...four minutes because Rivet bleeds like a hemophiliac.

-The PK has been solid and Price is playing like the goalie we all want him to be. One more to go for a huge W.



Notes on the first:

-It worries me that Miller is building up a Brodeur-like record against the Habs. We don't need that in the conference!

-You just knew Andrei Kostitsyn was due. He's been closer than hand grenades in the last two games.

-Okay, RDS can stop mourning Lapierre's absence any time now. The guy has sucked all year and I hate to be cliche, but there's absolutely no doubt if his name was Max Pacioretty, nobody on the network would even notice, let alone comment.

-Plekanec was so much better on the draw last year. I don't know what happened to him. I'm sure that's the same thing Billy the Kid's fans were wondering right before he got gunned down in his bedroom.

-Gomez could put a puck through the eye of a needle in the dark. Unfortunately, he can't hit the back of the open net.

-Is it a peril of this time of year that every sheet of ice in the NHL looks like absolute crap, or it it just the Habs' passing?

-That Myers is quite the find. How I wish the Habs had a guy like that!

-Price has started well. He's either decided he's got nothing to lose, or he's too mad at being benched to worry about what happens.

-Gomez slides through the neutral zone like a salmon swimming downstream.

-Pierre McGuire homoerotic comment of the period: "Derek Roy with magician-like use of his stick."

-I think if I had to pick a Sabre to keep, I'd take Hecht. He always plays so well against Montreal.

-Nice period. Let's see if the PP can find itself at the top of the second.

11 comments:

Paul B. said...

Not sure how's your French but I didn't hear anyone at RDS complaining about Lapierre. On the contrary everyone I heard, said that it was deserved.

While I watch RDS regularly, I'm not a fan of everyone they have on the air.

Anonymous said...

That Pacioretty comment is a bit ridiculous. I can assure you that if he was a 30 goals scorer, nobody would care if he spoke French, Martian or English.

On the other hand, if Lapierre's name was Max Stone, the Montreal English media would make a big deal of his demise.

Anonymous said...

You should have a tab at the top of the page for your collection of PMHCP's (Pierre McGuire homoerotic comment of the period)

Anonymous said...

Word on the street is that the excellent Lapierre coverage from RDS has been noticed by the Fox News station. Apparently they're scouting the telecast.

Anonymous said...

Wait - I just woke up saw the score and said where am I March 2010? or October 2009? - I guess 1 point is 1 point forward - I would love to be a fly in that Charter home tonight - Yikes!! Painfull hard loss - Who was last Canadiens shooter after Vanek Scored winner? Wait I don't want to know-Sigh......... Go Habs Go.....

Unknown said...

Paul B, you spoke to soon. A guy on L'Antichambre (RDS) after the game was complaining about Laps being benched.

Anonymous said...

Sabres play 8 minutes of hockey and it's enough to beat the Habs. Sad.

Anonymous said...

I say get rid of Hamrlik. That guy is nothing but trouble. And Moore, he's sucking too.

Paul B. said...

To David:

I'm not very good at predicting the future.

Normand Flinn is usually alright. I suppose he's entitled to one stupid comment once in a while. On the other hand, he's only one of about 15 people that covers hockey on RDS so he can hardly be considered the Voice of RDS.

James Parent said...

Re: RDS and Lapierre - during the 'avant-match' there's a segment called Réalité ou Fiction, where Chantal asks to moronic panelists (in this case, Normand Flynn and Gaston Therrien) 3-4 questions and they have to say true or false.
First one was 'Pyatt est plus utile au Canadien que Lapierre'. Both guys answered false, and both went on to say how Lapierre is such a better player than Pyatt. I'm sorry but if that's not blind, cretinous homerism for the Québécois boy, I don't know what it is.

Also, throughout the telecast, Pierre, Benoit and the in-period 'panel' kept mentioning how Pyatt gets a preferential treatment because the coach loves him. Implying, of course, that Laps gets shuffled aside because the coach doesn't like him...

Pyatt played an excellent game, did all the right things that Laps just seems unable to do this year (clear the zone effectively, forecheck in the right place at the right time, create turnovers). There's no way he sits tonight and that's not because Martin supposedly is in love with him - Pyatt, right now, is a better player. I still believe something can be made out of Laps and I hope he's still around next year for that. But for now, Pyatt is better.

Anonymous said...

The whole language issue cuts both ways. Watch TSN or CBC and you'll quickly notice that an inordinate % of negative commentary about players focuses on players of European or Quebec origin. Conversely, loudmouths on RDS and V are quicker to point out deficiencies of US and ROC players. The ZONE on SRC does a better job of assessing players objectively (which may help explain its lower ratings).

In either language, that kind of coverage is moronic and it probably has something to do with media people trying not to ruffle the feathers of local guys/homies they'll meet at the golf course in the summer or who will give them interviews and access during the season.

Back to hockey. Lapierre's problem is that he had a very good season last year as a role player (a Risebrough type with speed who can kill penalties, badger the opposition and score occasionally) but it all went to his head during the offseason. Thanks in part to the media-driven Quebec star system and the lack of French-speaking stars on the team, third-liners end up being hyped like superstars. Same thing happened with Tender.

As a result, Max has forgotten his identity as a hockey player, and what brought him to the NHL. He has played better since the suspension, but he remains a disappointment. Trouble is, it's already the second time that Lapierre suffers from a "tête enflée"-induced relapse, which doesn't bode well.

Hockey-wise, Lapierre has a higher ceiling than Pyatt, but Pyatt is more useful to the Habs right now, mainly because he understands his role. It may be true, however, that Pyatt is getting some extra opportunity (compared to a guy like Ryan White), but it's because he was acquired in a trade, not because Martin is favouring him. Teams will give more chances to high draft picks and guys acquired in a trade in order to make management look good.

Two facts remain, however:

1- Pyatt is taking full advantage of that extra opportunity, unlike a guy like Ben Maxwell. Hats off to him.

2- That opportunity would not have materialized had Lapierre taken care of business like he did last season. Dunce cap for Max.