A friend of mine said the other day that what the Canadiens have to do if they want to win is identify with the sweater they're wearing and use the pride they should feel in that to propel them over the top.
It's an interesting theory. Every team has talent. They all train within an inch of their lives to be in physically top shape. Every one has a coaching staff that devotes its energy to preparing the players by deconstructing the opponent and making a game plan to counter their strengths. They've all got medical teams, dentists, nutritionists, therapists, media relations specialists, trainers and motivation coaches. The salary cap destroyed the last barrier between the haves and have-nots, and parity is at a level previously unknown in the NHL.
With all things being more equal than they've ever been, perhaps the only things that differentiate one NHL team from another are the intangibles, like heart, luck or pride in a jersey. So, tonight's game against the Bruins is a test of character for the Canadiens. The two teams have proven that on any given night, either of them can beat...even dominate...the other. If the Canadiens are going to prevail, they have to prove they want it more. It's an old cliche, but it's true. They have to find those intangibles...determination, a hatred of losing...and draw on them to push them over the top.
In the process, they have to learn to overcome the panic they must be feeling now, with what they'd believed to be an easy first round opponent breathing down their necks. Oh yes, it'll be a test of character tonight. The Canadiens will either wither and feel the doom that facing a game seven they shouldn't be playing will spark. Or, as my friend says, they might look down at the CH on their sweaters and say, "Hey! I'm a bloody Montreal Canadien. I'm privileged to wear this sweater, and I'm going to play my heart out for it!"
I hope they notice that CH and play for it before it's too late.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Ewwwww
That was a wretched display of playoff hockey. I know I thought the Bs might win last night, but not because the Habs gave up. But they did. They gave up, after the Buckner-like Price giveaway on the go-ahead goal. They sucked. Maybe they got too cocky after a superior first period. But whatever the reason, (PRICE) they didn't deserve to win.
Yuck. I didn't want to see them play on Saturday. Ewwww. That is all.
Yuck. I didn't want to see them play on Saturday. Ewwww. That is all.
Building a mystery
I was wondering today how a franchise can have such a pervasive identity that it trickles down and continues through generation after generation of players, coaches, owners, wins and losses. Mention the Montreal Canadiens, and what's the image that comes to mind? Despite years of futility and decades mired in a mucking, defensive style, the picture the name evokes is speed. Slick skating, smooth passing, offence...all accomplished at top speed. Flash and dash. Now think of the Bruins. What image do they bring to mind? Despite the brilliance of Bourque and Orr, it's that of a blue-collar team...a tough one that puts hard work and solid defence first.
Maybe it's because both franchises like to keep their heroes around to help build the next generation, and they naturally tend to recreate the kind of teams they knew as players. Bob Gainey is going to believe the team on which he played in the glory days of the 1970s is the prototype for success. Cam Neeley, Bruins vice president, will naturally push for the contruction of a tough, hardworking team like the ones he knew back in the day.
It's funny that those fundamental identities don't shift, even as the actual makeups of the teams do. And I think those identities are so deeply ingrained in the fans and players on those teams, they inevitably limit the possibilities in which the players believe. Boston's record when they're down 3-1 in a series...0-21. They've never even forced a seventh game. Montreal has made the 3-1 series deficit comeback once, but they've pushed a series to seven games on four other occasions. I've concluded it's because of the history of those teams and what the players believe they're capable of doing.
The Canadiens are a team of legend, mystery and success. Any non-Habs fan will tell you they get nervous when the playoffs come and the Habs start rolling. They'll say there's something magical about that team, and sometimes even when all the odds are against their success, it seems as though everything suddenly lines up just right to allow it to win. It's happened so often, the players believe it too. It's part of their red, white and blue identity. I think that's why the Bruins have never really surprised anyone. Their workaday image is one that relies on hard work, and by extension, pragmatism. They know the odds of coming back from a 3-1 series deficit, and with their honest assessment of the situation and innate practicality, they conclude they won't be able to do it. They say they will fight for every game and that they still have a chance in the series. But the words ring hollow and the sense of conviction they need to accomplish such a feat doesn't resonate from their assurances. Theirs is a grim passion...a nose-to-the-grindstone, go-down-like-men kind of dedication.
I think the Bruins will come out tonight and give the Canadiens everything they can handle. It's not in their franchise nature to mail it in, even when the odds are as long as they look to be right now. They might even pull off a win. But when it comes right down to it, history and the identity of their franchise has taught them they will ultimately lose the series and they don't believe there's anything they can do about it.
Jean Beliveau and other great Habs have called the phenomenon a "culture of winning." They believe young players, brought into a winning team will learn how to win and accept nothing else. They'll then pass it on to the next generation. With the lean years both the Canadiens and Bruins have weathered since Le Gros Bill last laced then up, you'd think the gap in time between then and now might be unbreachable, and that both teams might have gone on to forge new identities. But it seems some things transcend time.
Maybe this year the Bruins will prove this theory wrong. Maybe for once, their personal Lucy won't pull the football away just as they try to kick it through the uprights. But if they do pull off a miracle, they'll have to overcome generations of being the Boston Bruins first.
Maybe it's because both franchises like to keep their heroes around to help build the next generation, and they naturally tend to recreate the kind of teams they knew as players. Bob Gainey is going to believe the team on which he played in the glory days of the 1970s is the prototype for success. Cam Neeley, Bruins vice president, will naturally push for the contruction of a tough, hardworking team like the ones he knew back in the day.
It's funny that those fundamental identities don't shift, even as the actual makeups of the teams do. And I think those identities are so deeply ingrained in the fans and players on those teams, they inevitably limit the possibilities in which the players believe. Boston's record when they're down 3-1 in a series...0-21. They've never even forced a seventh game. Montreal has made the 3-1 series deficit comeback once, but they've pushed a series to seven games on four other occasions. I've concluded it's because of the history of those teams and what the players believe they're capable of doing.
The Canadiens are a team of legend, mystery and success. Any non-Habs fan will tell you they get nervous when the playoffs come and the Habs start rolling. They'll say there's something magical about that team, and sometimes even when all the odds are against their success, it seems as though everything suddenly lines up just right to allow it to win. It's happened so often, the players believe it too. It's part of their red, white and blue identity. I think that's why the Bruins have never really surprised anyone. Their workaday image is one that relies on hard work, and by extension, pragmatism. They know the odds of coming back from a 3-1 series deficit, and with their honest assessment of the situation and innate practicality, they conclude they won't be able to do it. They say they will fight for every game and that they still have a chance in the series. But the words ring hollow and the sense of conviction they need to accomplish such a feat doesn't resonate from their assurances. Theirs is a grim passion...a nose-to-the-grindstone, go-down-like-men kind of dedication.
I think the Bruins will come out tonight and give the Canadiens everything they can handle. It's not in their franchise nature to mail it in, even when the odds are as long as they look to be right now. They might even pull off a win. But when it comes right down to it, history and the identity of their franchise has taught them they will ultimately lose the series and they don't believe there's anything they can do about it.
Jean Beliveau and other great Habs have called the phenomenon a "culture of winning." They believe young players, brought into a winning team will learn how to win and accept nothing else. They'll then pass it on to the next generation. With the lean years both the Canadiens and Bruins have weathered since Le Gros Bill last laced then up, you'd think the gap in time between then and now might be unbreachable, and that both teams might have gone on to forge new identities. But it seems some things transcend time.
Maybe this year the Bruins will prove this theory wrong. Maybe for once, their personal Lucy won't pull the football away just as they try to kick it through the uprights. But if they do pull off a miracle, they'll have to overcome generations of being the Boston Bruins first.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
On the job training
Watching game four between Montreal and Boston last night reminded me of an arm-wrestling match between two big guys...elbows planted, biceps bulging and faces red with effort, their eyes and hands locked in combat. The showdown began with Boston leaning hard into the Habs, forcing them back and looking like they'd score a quick one. But the Canadiens dug in and held off the Bruins' desperate attack through twenty minutes. Then, gradually, the Habs' relentless skating began to turn the game in Montreal's favour. Almost imperceptibly at first...a few missed Boston passes, a few more Canadiens' hits catching their targets, faceoffs going to the guys in white...the battle shifted. By the time the third rolled around, the Canadiens were the ones playing airtight defence while the Bruins looked tired and slow. SLAM! With six shots in the final period, the exhausted Boston team's wrist hit the table.
I don't know about you, but I wasn't very satisfied after the Canadiens' 2-1 OT win last Saturday. Sure, they went up 2-0 in the series, but they didn't really deserve it. They were outplayed and looked a bit stunned by the Bruins' intensity. They hit, but were unwilling to pay the physical price to get in front of the net and grind out a win, seeming to expect the open ice and offensive dominance to which they'd become accustomed against this team during the regular season. The overtime goal was a good shot on the powerplay, and I couldn't help but feel they were lucky to get it. Last night was different. It seems as though this young group has learned a whole lot about what it means to be a playoff team.
The powerplay and high-powered offence have been their bread and butter for the last seven months. But master tactician Claude Julien has studied the tapes and made a game plan suited to his team's strengths. His plan has been very effective in neutralizing the Canadiens' attack, and it would be tempting for inexperienced players to get frustrated when the skills on which they've relied all year are suddenly not working. But the Habs have countered with a grinding game of their own...one that's faster and at least as punishing as Boston's. They've learned that playoff hockey is played in the corners and the goalcrease and that no ice is conceded willingly.
They've learned when the opposition smothers the players who carried the team all year, the supporting players must step up and be the heroes. Smolinski, Kostopoulos, Brisebois...all scratches this year...have been the warriors leading the team into the fray. They've bought the team time until the high-flyers can adapt and make the contributions they're expected to make.
They've learned not to panic when a loss seems to swing momentum to the other team and fill it with confidence. Guy Carbonneau played more than two hundred playoff games and he knows better than anyone that a series isn't won in one or two games, and players can't get ecstatic when they get up two games to none, or too worried when they lose one. As he said before the playoffs began, "It's okay to lose the first game, but it's not okay to lose the last one." That philosophy seems to be registering with his team, which has found a new level of dedication and determination to win after the game three loss that put the Bruins back in it.
Another lesson learned: the importance of discipline. In many games during the last month of the regular season and in the first three games of this playoff series, the Canadiens have been prone to taking many more lazy, ill-thought-out penalties than they had for most of the regular season. In the last game, Steve Begin's end-of-period tripping penalty notwithstanding, the Canadiens successfully walked the fine line between tough and stupid. Learning to keep their heads under intense physical stress is a lesson that will serve them well in future playoff games.
And one of the most important things any team can learn about surviving and thriving in the post-season is the value of a single goal. Never can a team take a lead for granted, and when it's achieved, it must be protected at all costs. The team is learning that one fluky or dirty goal could be the difference in advancing or going home in ignominy. The Habs know they can rely on Carey Price to give them every chance to win. Now they know they can rely on themselves to support him and shut down the opposition. The last ten minutes of last night's win were thrilling, heart-stopping and impressive.
The Canadiens have the Bruins on the ropes now and can finish the job with a win at home tomorrow. But one more lesson they have to learn: an opponent isn't done until the final siren sounds on their fourth loss. They should expect the Bruins to fight for every inch in game five, just as they have in the last four.
And they should be thankful to the Bruins too, despite the cuts and bruises they'll take away from this series. Every good young team needs to learn the hard way what it takes to be successful in the playoffs, no matter how good they are in the regular season. It's turned out Boston is a hard teacher; a steely-eyed opponent who won't go to the mat easily.
I don't know about you, but I wasn't very satisfied after the Canadiens' 2-1 OT win last Saturday. Sure, they went up 2-0 in the series, but they didn't really deserve it. They were outplayed and looked a bit stunned by the Bruins' intensity. They hit, but were unwilling to pay the physical price to get in front of the net and grind out a win, seeming to expect the open ice and offensive dominance to which they'd become accustomed against this team during the regular season. The overtime goal was a good shot on the powerplay, and I couldn't help but feel they were lucky to get it. Last night was different. It seems as though this young group has learned a whole lot about what it means to be a playoff team.
The powerplay and high-powered offence have been their bread and butter for the last seven months. But master tactician Claude Julien has studied the tapes and made a game plan suited to his team's strengths. His plan has been very effective in neutralizing the Canadiens' attack, and it would be tempting for inexperienced players to get frustrated when the skills on which they've relied all year are suddenly not working. But the Habs have countered with a grinding game of their own...one that's faster and at least as punishing as Boston's. They've learned that playoff hockey is played in the corners and the goalcrease and that no ice is conceded willingly.
They've learned when the opposition smothers the players who carried the team all year, the supporting players must step up and be the heroes. Smolinski, Kostopoulos, Brisebois...all scratches this year...have been the warriors leading the team into the fray. They've bought the team time until the high-flyers can adapt and make the contributions they're expected to make.
They've learned not to panic when a loss seems to swing momentum to the other team and fill it with confidence. Guy Carbonneau played more than two hundred playoff games and he knows better than anyone that a series isn't won in one or two games, and players can't get ecstatic when they get up two games to none, or too worried when they lose one. As he said before the playoffs began, "It's okay to lose the first game, but it's not okay to lose the last one." That philosophy seems to be registering with his team, which has found a new level of dedication and determination to win after the game three loss that put the Bruins back in it.
Another lesson learned: the importance of discipline. In many games during the last month of the regular season and in the first three games of this playoff series, the Canadiens have been prone to taking many more lazy, ill-thought-out penalties than they had for most of the regular season. In the last game, Steve Begin's end-of-period tripping penalty notwithstanding, the Canadiens successfully walked the fine line between tough and stupid. Learning to keep their heads under intense physical stress is a lesson that will serve them well in future playoff games.
And one of the most important things any team can learn about surviving and thriving in the post-season is the value of a single goal. Never can a team take a lead for granted, and when it's achieved, it must be protected at all costs. The team is learning that one fluky or dirty goal could be the difference in advancing or going home in ignominy. The Habs know they can rely on Carey Price to give them every chance to win. Now they know they can rely on themselves to support him and shut down the opposition. The last ten minutes of last night's win were thrilling, heart-stopping and impressive.
The Canadiens have the Bruins on the ropes now and can finish the job with a win at home tomorrow. But one more lesson they have to learn: an opponent isn't done until the final siren sounds on their fourth loss. They should expect the Bruins to fight for every inch in game five, just as they have in the last four.
And they should be thankful to the Bruins too, despite the cuts and bruises they'll take away from this series. Every good young team needs to learn the hard way what it takes to be successful in the playoffs, no matter how good they are in the regular season. It's turned out Boston is a hard teacher; a steely-eyed opponent who won't go to the mat easily.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Make way for Mo'
I confess, I had trouble sleeping last night after that 2-1 OT loss. For the first time this playoffs, I entered hockey heart-attack territory during a game, and I wasn't ready for it. I wasn't expecting the Bruins to lie down and die exactly, but I was expecting the Canadiens to have the situation more firmly in hand than they do. Instead, they're one lucky bounce away from being down 2-1 in the series. Of course, they're also one lucky bounce from being up 3-0 too. But last night, every time the Habs missed a chance, or gave up a breakaway only to see it coralled by Cary Price, everyone from the Fleet Centre beer sellers to Guy Carbonneau could feel the inevitability of the Bruins taking this one on some random Canadiens' error.
Ordinarily, it wouldn't be that big a deal. It sucks to lose in overtime, but they're still up 2-1 in the series and all the pressure to win is still on the Bruins...a team the Habs have handled, well, handily all season. It is a big deal though, because the Habs weren't just playing in the Bruins' rink, they were playing the Bruins' game too, and they have been for the last two games.
Montreal wins when the guys in the CH get to pucks first and use their speed to force the other team back on the defensive. They win when they capitalize on their slick-passing powerplay, and when they come at the opposition goalie in offensive waves. They did that in the first period of game one. We haven't seen it since. Instead, we've seen Boston's plugging, hitting, low-scoring style shut down the Habs' PP and ride speedy forwards into the boards. We've seen Tim Thomas get hot when he really needed to be hot. And it makes me nervous.
As we've all seen in the past, underdogs can rise up to fatally bite the top hound. It seems to happen very often in playoff series between these two teams. In 1971, the write-off Habs beat the Bobby Orr-led Bs in seven. In 2004, the seventh-seed Habs clawed back from a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in their history to beat the Bruins, again in seven. Just as we were waiting for the other shoe to drop after the regular-season manhandling of the Bs, we can't help but think the Bruins are due to give some pain of the playoff variety back to Montreal.
The momentum Boston gained from that game...finally seeing their workmanlike, desperate hockey triumph over their regular-season masters...can't be disregarded. They're on a high and they're ready to come out with just as much enthusiasm in game four, only now they have a measure of confidence. It's a different situation entirely, but Carolina in 2006 is haunting me. Canadiens were up two games to none, both games won on the road, and then Justin Williams took out Saku Koivu's eye. Momentum shifted hugely and four games later the Habs were golfing. Here we are again...two-games-to-none lead, no Koivu and what looks suspiciously like a scoring slump starting to kick in. Of course, this year's Habs are a better team, from the goal out, and there's a chance they'll get Koivu back if the series goes long. Nothing says they'll collapse like they did two years ago...except this feeling of foreboding last night's loss created.
In the playoffs, nothing can replace hard work. The Habs did enough to keep themselves in it in the last two games. But the Bruins did more. They were the ones who got to every loose puck first. They were the ones who shot the puck into the offensive zone and doggedly chased it down. They're outworking the Canadiens, and no amount of talent or speed can replace that effort. When the highest-scoring team in the league with the number one powerplay relies for two games on the offensive talents of Brian Smolinski and Tom Kostopoulos, you have to start questioning some things. Like why Alex Kovalev is playing his most ineffective hockey of the season, and why Chris Higgins and Guillaume Latendresse are finding themselves so rarely in front of Tim Thomas.
I'm going to spend a very nervous couple of days now, until I see that the Habs have decided to come out and play some hardworking hockey tomorrow night. If they do, they will be the better team. If they continue to rely on Carey Price bailing them out and trust in their on-paper superiority to put them over the top, they'll be toast by this time next week.
If the fans are the seventh man in a hockey series, then momentum is the eighth. Right now, old Mo is on the Boston side, and the Canadiens have an uphill battle to get her back on Tuesday night. If they can't muster up the effort to do that in a series that should be eminently winnable, they don't deserve to be in first place, or even in the playoffs. Don't get me wrong...I still think the Habs are the better team. They've proven their ability to adjust and respond to adversity all year. But they have work to do. This will either teach an inexperienced playoff team what post-season hockey is all about and that there are no freebies in April, or it will show us this isn't the team we thought it was.
I'm uneasy, and I don't like it. I need my sleep.
Ordinarily, it wouldn't be that big a deal. It sucks to lose in overtime, but they're still up 2-1 in the series and all the pressure to win is still on the Bruins...a team the Habs have handled, well, handily all season. It is a big deal though, because the Habs weren't just playing in the Bruins' rink, they were playing the Bruins' game too, and they have been for the last two games.
Montreal wins when the guys in the CH get to pucks first and use their speed to force the other team back on the defensive. They win when they capitalize on their slick-passing powerplay, and when they come at the opposition goalie in offensive waves. They did that in the first period of game one. We haven't seen it since. Instead, we've seen Boston's plugging, hitting, low-scoring style shut down the Habs' PP and ride speedy forwards into the boards. We've seen Tim Thomas get hot when he really needed to be hot. And it makes me nervous.
As we've all seen in the past, underdogs can rise up to fatally bite the top hound. It seems to happen very often in playoff series between these two teams. In 1971, the write-off Habs beat the Bobby Orr-led Bs in seven. In 2004, the seventh-seed Habs clawed back from a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in their history to beat the Bruins, again in seven. Just as we were waiting for the other shoe to drop after the regular-season manhandling of the Bs, we can't help but think the Bruins are due to give some pain of the playoff variety back to Montreal.
The momentum Boston gained from that game...finally seeing their workmanlike, desperate hockey triumph over their regular-season masters...can't be disregarded. They're on a high and they're ready to come out with just as much enthusiasm in game four, only now they have a measure of confidence. It's a different situation entirely, but Carolina in 2006 is haunting me. Canadiens were up two games to none, both games won on the road, and then Justin Williams took out Saku Koivu's eye. Momentum shifted hugely and four games later the Habs were golfing. Here we are again...two-games-to-none lead, no Koivu and what looks suspiciously like a scoring slump starting to kick in. Of course, this year's Habs are a better team, from the goal out, and there's a chance they'll get Koivu back if the series goes long. Nothing says they'll collapse like they did two years ago...except this feeling of foreboding last night's loss created.
In the playoffs, nothing can replace hard work. The Habs did enough to keep themselves in it in the last two games. But the Bruins did more. They were the ones who got to every loose puck first. They were the ones who shot the puck into the offensive zone and doggedly chased it down. They're outworking the Canadiens, and no amount of talent or speed can replace that effort. When the highest-scoring team in the league with the number one powerplay relies for two games on the offensive talents of Brian Smolinski and Tom Kostopoulos, you have to start questioning some things. Like why Alex Kovalev is playing his most ineffective hockey of the season, and why Chris Higgins and Guillaume Latendresse are finding themselves so rarely in front of Tim Thomas.
I'm going to spend a very nervous couple of days now, until I see that the Habs have decided to come out and play some hardworking hockey tomorrow night. If they do, they will be the better team. If they continue to rely on Carey Price bailing them out and trust in their on-paper superiority to put them over the top, they'll be toast by this time next week.
If the fans are the seventh man in a hockey series, then momentum is the eighth. Right now, old Mo is on the Boston side, and the Canadiens have an uphill battle to get her back on Tuesday night. If they can't muster up the effort to do that in a series that should be eminently winnable, they don't deserve to be in first place, or even in the playoffs. Don't get me wrong...I still think the Habs are the better team. They've proven their ability to adjust and respond to adversity all year. But they have work to do. This will either teach an inexperienced playoff team what post-season hockey is all about and that there are no freebies in April, or it will show us this isn't the team we thought it was.
I'm uneasy, and I don't like it. I need my sleep.
Wherefore art thou, Saku?
Funny how a couple of wins against the Bruins make us forget the Captain's broken foot. In the days leading up to the playoffs, the frenzy of "will Koivu be able to play" questions from fans and media was starting to resemble lunchtime in the shark pool. But a convincing game one victory and a less-convincing win in game two against the Bruins later and Koivu's foot is mentioned only in passing. Yup...still broken. Oh well, he'll be back in the second round, or at worst the third, we say.
I think we're getting a tiny bit ahead of ourselves. Yes, the team is doing really well since Koivu went down. But there are subtle signs of the hole he leaves; a hole it's not that easy to fill. It was a little more obvious last night, in a game in which the rest of the team was giving far less than their best and were lucky to pull off a win against the desperate Bs.
Kovalev is trying too hard as captain. He's not just playing his game, he's trying to play everyone's. I prefer AK27 to stay within himself and work with his linemates, rather than spread himself too thin in an effort to be a visible leader. He's already The Man...he doesn't have to be Superman just because he's wearing the C.
Chris Higgins is doing a decent job replacing Koivu at the centre position, but he can't win a faceoff to save his life. The Habs were lucky last night that the other three centres were better than fifty percent on the draw, so Higgins' shortcomings don't show up as badly. But on many nights this season, the captain has been the only Hab on the winning side in faceoffs. And without winning those draws, the team spends a lot more time chasing to get the puck back. That reduces the effectiveness of their speed game and usually translates to a higher shots-against total. Faceoffs are going to be increasingly important as the playoffs continue.
And do I even have to mention the PP? It started to slide in the regular season after Koivu's injury. But it's painfully obvious now that without Koivu, the Bruins are focussing on Kovalev and successfully shutting him down. When things get desperate, Carbonneau often throws Koivu out there on the powerplay with Kovalev. The captain keeps moving, forcing the opponent's box to move too...and opening those seams for the brilliant cross-ice passes that are the PP's bread and butter. Or he sets up behind the net, making the wrap-around, a pass to either wing or a quick tip out to a trailer in the slot all viable options. Right now, everyone is standing still, waiting for Kovalev to do something, and the Bruins know it.
There are the intangibles too. Koivu wants to win this year probably more than anyone else on the team. He's a passionate guy, and he'll pick up the intensity level in the room just by being there, wanting it. This is the first time in his whole career he's been on a team good enough to make a serious run. At 34 years of age, he knows these chances don't come along every day. So, a guy who normally cranks up his level of play from "try-like-hell" to "win-or-die-trying" during the playoffs will be even more motivated to go that extra mile this year.
It's great the team is up two games to none. Although, I can't help thinking, yeah, but it's the Bruins. That's supposed to be what happens. If it were another opponent, I'd be very afraid of facing the playoffs without Koivu. I hope the Habs take the Boston series with alacrity and the captain has another week or so to heal. And I hope that's enough time, because this is a team that needs its captain back.
I think we're getting a tiny bit ahead of ourselves. Yes, the team is doing really well since Koivu went down. But there are subtle signs of the hole he leaves; a hole it's not that easy to fill. It was a little more obvious last night, in a game in which the rest of the team was giving far less than their best and were lucky to pull off a win against the desperate Bs.
Kovalev is trying too hard as captain. He's not just playing his game, he's trying to play everyone's. I prefer AK27 to stay within himself and work with his linemates, rather than spread himself too thin in an effort to be a visible leader. He's already The Man...he doesn't have to be Superman just because he's wearing the C.
Chris Higgins is doing a decent job replacing Koivu at the centre position, but he can't win a faceoff to save his life. The Habs were lucky last night that the other three centres were better than fifty percent on the draw, so Higgins' shortcomings don't show up as badly. But on many nights this season, the captain has been the only Hab on the winning side in faceoffs. And without winning those draws, the team spends a lot more time chasing to get the puck back. That reduces the effectiveness of their speed game and usually translates to a higher shots-against total. Faceoffs are going to be increasingly important as the playoffs continue.
And do I even have to mention the PP? It started to slide in the regular season after Koivu's injury. But it's painfully obvious now that without Koivu, the Bruins are focussing on Kovalev and successfully shutting him down. When things get desperate, Carbonneau often throws Koivu out there on the powerplay with Kovalev. The captain keeps moving, forcing the opponent's box to move too...and opening those seams for the brilliant cross-ice passes that are the PP's bread and butter. Or he sets up behind the net, making the wrap-around, a pass to either wing or a quick tip out to a trailer in the slot all viable options. Right now, everyone is standing still, waiting for Kovalev to do something, and the Bruins know it.
There are the intangibles too. Koivu wants to win this year probably more than anyone else on the team. He's a passionate guy, and he'll pick up the intensity level in the room just by being there, wanting it. This is the first time in his whole career he's been on a team good enough to make a serious run. At 34 years of age, he knows these chances don't come along every day. So, a guy who normally cranks up his level of play from "try-like-hell" to "win-or-die-trying" during the playoffs will be even more motivated to go that extra mile this year.
It's great the team is up two games to none. Although, I can't help thinking, yeah, but it's the Bruins. That's supposed to be what happens. If it were another opponent, I'd be very afraid of facing the playoffs without Koivu. I hope the Habs take the Boston series with alacrity and the captain has another week or so to heal. And I hope that's enough time, because this is a team that needs its captain back.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Ten things I hate about the NHL
I was checking out the competition last night, watching the Caps/Flyers, Sens/Pens and Rags/Brodeurs. I figure the Habs could be playing any of them (okay...maybe not the Sens) before the East is won, so it's best to know thine enemy. I caught a little of the late Colorado/Minnesota game as well. All the teams, with the exception of Ottawa, are playing their best hockey, which is to be expected. There were lots of nice hits, generally excellent speed and timely goaltending. No one seems to have the Habs' pinpoint-accurate passing ability though, including the vaunted Crosby/Hossa combination. And watching other teams' powerplays is simply frustrating when you're used to the Markov-to-Streit-to-Kovalev-to-the-back-of-the-net combination. If this is the best the teams out there have to offer, I think the Habs are able to compete with...and beat...just about anyone.
But I digress. Watching so many games last night inevitably...due to sheer volume of hockey absorbed...showcased several of the things I really hate about the NHL. Don't get me wrong: I love hockey. I love the speed and aggression of the game at its highest level, and seeing the best players in the world work their magic is a joy. Still, these things drive me crazy:
10. Goalies with stupid nicknames who emblazon said stupid nicknames all over their expensive, hand-painted masks. I know the modern goalie mask is supposed to be an expression of self for the only player on the ice who would otherwise go about in complete anonymity...which explains why Garth Brooks adorns the face of Carey Price every night. But when a guy pays a hefty chunk of change for his mask, and goes to the bother and further expense of a custom paint job, he ought to have something a little more imaginative than "Backs" (Backstrom) or "Wardo" (Cam Ward) splashed all over it.
9. The delay-of-game penalty for shooting the puck out of the rink. This is the stupidest penalty in hockey. I understand the logic behind wanting to eliminate the old defence trick of deliberately relieving pressure by dumping the puck into the stands. But an automatic two-minute penalty? That's way too harsh a punishment. And the irony of it is, the game is slowed down much more by stopping play to call a penalty than it would be if, say, there were to be a faceoff in the offending player's end with no change allowed, as it is for an icing.
8. Scrums after the whistle. They're pointless, time-consuming, often end up negating what might have been a powerplay and involve so much facewashing and shoving they make the players look like they're in fights for the bathroom in a delinquent girls' school. Just suck it up and go to the faceoff circle.
7. Players who kiss their gloves after they score. Crosby does it. So does Ovechkin. And it's irritating. Every time I see them do it, I hope they get cold sores from the dirty glove.
6. Cheerleaders. If a city needs scantily-clad women gyrating on the boards to get asses in the seats, it might not be a city entirely suited to the care and feeding of an NHL hockey team. I have no problem with it if the rink is full and the fly girls are part of the spectacle. But when the girls ARE the spectacle, it may be time to relocate some of the McFranchises to towns where there's actual ice outside the arena in winter.
5. The all-star game. It's a farce, made more ridiculous by the silly shootout competition with judges this year. Steven Stamkos, demonstrating some of his moves on Sportsnet, was better than the moves the NHL players pulled in the contest. Even Ovechkin looked goofy.
4. Speaking of which...the shootout. I hate the shooutout. Why does there have to be a winner of every game? What was wrong with a tie? If two teams can play sixty minutes of regulation and five minutes of overtime deadlocked, they should be able to call it a night and agree they're evenly matched at the end. There's honour in a tie. There's none in the arbitrary fortune of sending players in on breakaways against a benighted goalie who may or may not luck into stopping them. Sure, it's fun to watch, but it sure leaves a sour taste in the mouths of fans whose team put in a great effort, only to lose it in a carnival sideshow.
3. And, following from that...the points system. I can't stand the "loser point" system. If the league is going to have finite wins and losses in every game, why are there even points at all? If a team loses, it loses. End of story. You don't see baseball or basketball awarding points in the standings to make losing in the late minutes of a game palatable. Or worse...deciding tied games with home run derbys or free-throw competitions, from which both teams emerge with points. It makes the NHL look silly. And for bonus irritation points, I hate that some team is going to beat the Habs' great 132-point season from 1976-77 because they collect enough lose points to put them over the top.
2. The division-winner playoff seeding format. Sure, the Caps would have made the playoffs this year anyway. But they should have been in seventh place. The idea of simply handing a team the third-overall seed in the conference because it wins a crappy division is ridiculous. A team is going to steal a playoff spot when it has less points than the eighth-place team, which is bad enough. But to automatically award it third place AND home-ice advantage in the playoffs is ludicrous. It almost happened this year, and we WILL see it unless the NHL changes that format.
And, the number one thing that drives me crazy about the NHL:
1. Gary Bettman. This smarmy little man who wants to make goalie nets bigger to increase scoring and who messes with the playoff schedule to accomodate indifferent US television broadcasters; who forced a year-long lockout on fans in order to introduce a salary cap on the league that has done little to decrease crazy salaries; who sees nothing wrong with putting a hockey team in Las Vegas, yet bristles at the idea of moving one from Tennessee to Hamilton, is not helping the league or the game. On the contrary, Bettman has changed the face of the NHL with which many of us grew up into something a little cheaper, a little more circus-like and a little less passionate.
Whew...good to get that off my chest. Because despite it all, I love hockey. The game will always be the game and a big hit or fast rush will always get the heart racing. And nothing is more fun than the Habs in good position to do some playoff damage, which, judging by what's happening around the league, they just might be this year.
But I digress. Watching so many games last night inevitably...due to sheer volume of hockey absorbed...showcased several of the things I really hate about the NHL. Don't get me wrong: I love hockey. I love the speed and aggression of the game at its highest level, and seeing the best players in the world work their magic is a joy. Still, these things drive me crazy:
10. Goalies with stupid nicknames who emblazon said stupid nicknames all over their expensive, hand-painted masks. I know the modern goalie mask is supposed to be an expression of self for the only player on the ice who would otherwise go about in complete anonymity...which explains why Garth Brooks adorns the face of Carey Price every night. But when a guy pays a hefty chunk of change for his mask, and goes to the bother and further expense of a custom paint job, he ought to have something a little more imaginative than "Backs" (Backstrom) or "Wardo" (Cam Ward) splashed all over it.
9. The delay-of-game penalty for shooting the puck out of the rink. This is the stupidest penalty in hockey. I understand the logic behind wanting to eliminate the old defence trick of deliberately relieving pressure by dumping the puck into the stands. But an automatic two-minute penalty? That's way too harsh a punishment. And the irony of it is, the game is slowed down much more by stopping play to call a penalty than it would be if, say, there were to be a faceoff in the offending player's end with no change allowed, as it is for an icing.
8. Scrums after the whistle. They're pointless, time-consuming, often end up negating what might have been a powerplay and involve so much facewashing and shoving they make the players look like they're in fights for the bathroom in a delinquent girls' school. Just suck it up and go to the faceoff circle.
7. Players who kiss their gloves after they score. Crosby does it. So does Ovechkin. And it's irritating. Every time I see them do it, I hope they get cold sores from the dirty glove.
6. Cheerleaders. If a city needs scantily-clad women gyrating on the boards to get asses in the seats, it might not be a city entirely suited to the care and feeding of an NHL hockey team. I have no problem with it if the rink is full and the fly girls are part of the spectacle. But when the girls ARE the spectacle, it may be time to relocate some of the McFranchises to towns where there's actual ice outside the arena in winter.
5. The all-star game. It's a farce, made more ridiculous by the silly shootout competition with judges this year. Steven Stamkos, demonstrating some of his moves on Sportsnet, was better than the moves the NHL players pulled in the contest. Even Ovechkin looked goofy.
4. Speaking of which...the shootout. I hate the shooutout. Why does there have to be a winner of every game? What was wrong with a tie? If two teams can play sixty minutes of regulation and five minutes of overtime deadlocked, they should be able to call it a night and agree they're evenly matched at the end. There's honour in a tie. There's none in the arbitrary fortune of sending players in on breakaways against a benighted goalie who may or may not luck into stopping them. Sure, it's fun to watch, but it sure leaves a sour taste in the mouths of fans whose team put in a great effort, only to lose it in a carnival sideshow.
3. And, following from that...the points system. I can't stand the "loser point" system. If the league is going to have finite wins and losses in every game, why are there even points at all? If a team loses, it loses. End of story. You don't see baseball or basketball awarding points in the standings to make losing in the late minutes of a game palatable. Or worse...deciding tied games with home run derbys or free-throw competitions, from which both teams emerge with points. It makes the NHL look silly. And for bonus irritation points, I hate that some team is going to beat the Habs' great 132-point season from 1976-77 because they collect enough lose points to put them over the top.
2. The division-winner playoff seeding format. Sure, the Caps would have made the playoffs this year anyway. But they should have been in seventh place. The idea of simply handing a team the third-overall seed in the conference because it wins a crappy division is ridiculous. A team is going to steal a playoff spot when it has less points than the eighth-place team, which is bad enough. But to automatically award it third place AND home-ice advantage in the playoffs is ludicrous. It almost happened this year, and we WILL see it unless the NHL changes that format.
And, the number one thing that drives me crazy about the NHL:
1. Gary Bettman. This smarmy little man who wants to make goalie nets bigger to increase scoring and who messes with the playoff schedule to accomodate indifferent US television broadcasters; who forced a year-long lockout on fans in order to introduce a salary cap on the league that has done little to decrease crazy salaries; who sees nothing wrong with putting a hockey team in Las Vegas, yet bristles at the idea of moving one from Tennessee to Hamilton, is not helping the league or the game. On the contrary, Bettman has changed the face of the NHL with which many of us grew up into something a little cheaper, a little more circus-like and a little less passionate.
Whew...good to get that off my chest. Because despite it all, I love hockey. The game will always be the game and a big hit or fast rush will always get the heart racing. And nothing is more fun than the Habs in good position to do some playoff damage, which, judging by what's happening around the league, they just might be this year.
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