Aftermath: Suckulence

Well,that was a rotten way to start a brand new NHL season. There's nothing quite as galling as watching the leafs win their Stanley Cup in the first game of the season. Make no mistake, that's what it was for them. Their offence was lucky, their defence pretty rotten and their power play dormant. Giguere saved their bacon for one night, but that won't happen all year long. So, the leafs got to jump up and down and pretend they're going to make the playoffs based on their big, exciting home opener against the hated Habs. Good for them.

It was a disappointing showing for the Canadiens. Despite missing Andrei Markov, Roman Hamrlik (what the heck is really wrong with him, anyway?) and Mike Cammalleri (suspension looks even more stupid now), their lineup is better than Toronto's. Andrei Kostitsyn, Tomas Plekanec, Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez are better than most of the leaf forwards. None of them put up a point. The Canadiens' power play was a dismal 0-for-5, carrying on from where it left off in a less-than-stellar pre-season. It felt like the Habs came out strong, hitting and skating. Then, after the first goal, they deflated and sat back.

Speaking of the first goal, O'Byrne and Picard looked horrible on it, and Plekanec deserved an assist for a horrid clearing attempt that ended up on a leaf stick.

Carey Price proved once again last night he's a solid NHL goaltender. He will mostly make the saves he should be making, and he doesn't often do something egregious that costs his team. The only problem is, he rarely makes the saves he shouldn't make. So, every time the Habs' patchy defence broke down last night, it ended up in the net. It wasn't Price's fault. He did what he was supposed to do. Unfortunately, when the defence features a couple of guys who won't crack the lineup next month, he needed to do a little bit more.

Benoit Pouliot looked like a softer Andrei Kostitsyn on those nights when the latter is drifting around in a dense fog. The guy did little to cement himself a place in the top-six. It didn't look good on a night when Guillaume Latendresse went and scored the year's first goal for Minny, even.
though he put up an assist after getting bumped to the third line.

Lack of discipline permeated the Habs game as it did so often last year. Five minor penalties for lazy crimes like hooking and tripping don't help a team trying to get some flow going. On the plus side, the PK worked well.

Among the lowlights, there were certainly some bright spots. The brightest of them was Lars Eller. The kid looked aggressive and showed some nice wheels and hands. If he keeps skating like he did last night, he could be the one to bump Pouliot out of his spot next to Gomez and Gionta.

Maxim Lapierre is going to have a good year. His surgically-repaired ankle finally healed in time for last playoffs, and we saw the results of his good health in markedly improved play. If he stays healthy this season, he's going to be fast, aggressive, opportunistic and annoying. Just the way we like him.

Dustin Boyd has better hands than he gets credit for having. Most people forget he made the Canadian world junior team for a reason. Calgary rushed him and wrote him off when he didn't put up huge numbers in the NHL, but the kid has skills. If he turns out to be a late-blooming 40-point guy, the Habs will have done well.

Josh Gorges is getting better every year. He was the Habs' best defenceman last night, making calm decisions and moving the puck well in his team-high 26 minutes of ice time. If he could only shoot on the PP, he's be a star.

Last night wasn't the best game we'll see this year. It's probably also not the worst. It wasn't a great way to start the season, but the season is long and we can only hope they finish it on a lot better note.

Habs vs. leafs: Let's Get It On Edition

Notes on the third:

-Spacek is done. He's old, he's fat and he's slow. When you get beaten cleanly by Clarke MacArthur, it's time to start thinking about that summer home in Prague.

-The plumbers are really earning their pay tonight. Or, as my plumber friend calls them, the drain surgeons.

-I don't understand why there can be so much skill in the lineup, and they can still lose to a team that has nothing. It amazes me.

-Ahhh...how cute! leafs fans are dredging up a Go leafs Go chant. There must be some fans from the '80s there.

-Darche instead of White? I don't think so. Go away, career minor leaguer.

-AHHH...I HATE losing to these idiots. Yuck.

-Price was good, overall.


Notes on the second:

-I like Cherry's latest deliberate misnomer: Plutonic for Plekanec. Pleks can play like he's made of plutonium anytime.

-He didn't score, but Pou-Pou was in the right place, in front of the net. As they say in real estate, location is everything.

-People forget Gill played a pretty mean game of baseball. He can catch like a shortstop sometimes. But the only thing he should pinch is his wife's ass.

-I love Gio...HATE the way he hangs his mouthguard from the corner of his lips all the time. It's like an old guy sucking his dentures at the dinner table.

-Wilson looks as troubled as an undertaker at Spring Break.

-Eller is like the bottom of a river. If you take the time to sift through the rubble, you'll find gold.

-Dear Mr.Markov, Could you please come back? Soon? Sincerely, Habs PP.

-I wonder how many baseball caps Alex Auld owns?

-I'm afraid Plekanec burned up too much fuel leading the NHL in pre-season scoring. Where's that guy tonight?

-Reason enough to send Darche down in favour of White...taking an idiot DOG penalty with his team down by one. Maybe the glass in the AHL is higher.

-It's funny, but the Habs seem to be easily winning all the board battles against all the truculent leafs. Is this Bizzaro NHL?

-You can almost hear the leaf fans silent prayers that this one should end right now.


Notes on the first:

-I'm still reeling from the shock of Cherry's prediction of a leaf win.

-Nice fast start. The boys look like they've got some legs.

-Price's first stop wasn't easy, but he put down his Kleenex and hot toddy long enough to make it. Good for him.

-Crap! O'Byrne and Picard are this year's Dandouillon. I'm going to call them O'Bard, O'Bad for when they really suck.

-Ahh...Price had the Kessel goal and was just sliding too hard backwards. I think his pads are too slippery or something.

-Gorges is already playing his heart out.

-Dustin Boyd!! The kid has hands but got stifled in Calgary.

-Lapierre is going to be good this year. He's got his crazy eyes back.

-Gomez looks like a Midget playing Atoms. In more ways than one.

-Early signs last year hasn't gone away: People taking dumb penalties, communication breakdowns in the D-zone and making the leafs look better than they are.

-Not a great period after a promising start. Habs look like they're content to hang out and just see what happens.


Pre-game notes:

-Watching the big leaf party in Dundas Square on HNIC reminds me that the last time there were that many delusional people in one place, it ended up in a world war.

-Phaneuf with the fauxhawk is trying to travel through time and recreate the last time the leafs made the playoffs.

-Excellent opening ceremony at the ACC. Truculent guys in dresses. The perfect leaf paradox.

-What the hell? Are they having a concert in the hope of distracting Toronto fans from the team?

-Just, please, Price, if you give one up early, let it not be a floater.

Fan Day

This is the best day of the year for hockey fans. Today, everybody's teams are in first place and the playoffs are possible for anyone. Oilers fans are excited to see their three new stars-in-waiting, leafs fans think their team has the best defence in the league and Caps fans are sure last playoffs were a fluke and this is their year.

Canadiens fans sometimes tend to get a bit too caught up in the hype to be happy at the start of a new season. The questions are there, of course. Will Carey Price be able to carry the goaltending load without Halak? Will the team stay healthy? Will not having more grit in the lineup hurt the smaller players' ability to perform? Pondering, debating and sometimes dreading the answers to those questions can make us forget to be hopeful.

While we're afraid Price won't be able to do the job in nets, we forget to hope that he will. What if he really grows into his talent and dominates this season? Today, that could happen. Today, Andrei Kostitsyn could be on the verge of having the season of his life. Benoit Pouliot might be set to find consistency and score thirty goals. P.K.Subban could be getting ready to launch a Calder-winning season. Tomas Plekanec might celebrate his new contract by scoring a point a game. The point is, today, anything is possible.

The new NHL season is like a clean sheet of ice, right after the Zamboni rolls off. It's fresh and smooth and unblemished. Now is the time to enjoy what might be. Just for today, there is no reality. Once the first goal is given up and the first loss in the books, it will be time to ask tough questions. Today is the day to hope. Today is the day of the fan.

Chances

The colours David Desharnais wears on his back when he goes to work every night are exactly the ones he's always hoped to sport, but the logo dominating the front of his sweater isn't the one he wears in his dreams. The dynamic, hard-working centreman is the Hamilton Bulldogs' best player. In his heart, he's a Montreal Canadien.

That's why, when he was summoned to coach Jacques Martin's office and told he was cut from Habs camp, bound to start another season in the AHL, he was disappointed and angry. He wasn't mad at Martin. He was upset at himself because he hates wondering if he could have given a little bit more.

"For sure I'm disappointed," he explains. "Every year you try to be better and to make the cut, the last cut. This year it's disappointing."

Desharnais lasted longer at Habs camp last fall, when he was one of the final guys cut. This season he's another year older and the team has brought in younger guys who are pushing for NHL jobs too. At 24, he's running out of chances to make the jump to the big league. Standing post-game in shorts, damp t-shirt and yellow crocs, the reason why the options of such a talented player are limited is obvious.

The guy is small. He'd have to use a stool to reach the high shelf if he worked as an accountant. It's almost inconceivable to imagine him as a professional hockey player. Or, it would be if he hadn't completely dominated the AHL exhibition game just ended. He didn't play like a man who let the disappointment of his cut from Habs camp affect his game. He pulled up his white athletic socks, stuffed them into his size-eight skates and went out to prove, once again, that he's going to try like hell to make the NHL.

"You have to do it because...it's not the first time," Desharnais says. "When I first got in pro I thought I would be in the AHL when I was in the East Coast. You just have to go in the league and do your best and try to be the best in that league. They're not going to have a choice about bringing you up. You have to force their hand to be back up there. You have to be patient. Try to dominate the AHL. It's a long season and lots of things can happen. Injuries, trade. The team can go good, the team can do bad. You never know what's going to happen, so you have to be patient and try to do your best down here."

His best in AHL pre-season games has seen him killing penalties and scoring shorthanded. A period later, he's working the power play and scoring by making himself invisible beside the net. Then he's winning a faceoff and driving to the goal for a shot. For a small man, he's hard to miss when he's on his game. He says one benefit of attending Canadiens' camp was the chance to pick up a few tricks from another guy who's just his size: newly-minted captain Brian Gionta.

"I have to watch him work every day. Gionta is one of those guys who's small, but he's fast and he's working hard. He's the captain, and it's not getting any better than that. I just have to watch him and learn from him."

Gionta's speed and work ethic are two things Desharnais has tried to copy in the last year, especially the speed. He's been focussing on getting quicker because he knows it could make the difference in landing an NHL job or becoming an AHL lifer.

"Yeah, it was one of my weaknesses, so I had to work on it. Thanks for saying it," he beams when someone mentions the improvement. "It's gotten better. I'm working on it every day, every year in the summer and obviously it's paying off.

"I worked with some guys...Paul Lawson, with the Canadiens," he continues. "You have to go faster when it's a faster pace. You go up one level and you have to go faster. Last year was my first year, so you get used to it and you push yourself harder every game."

Desharnais knows hockey is all about speed; the speed at which a puck flies, how quickly a player can get from point A to point B and how rapidly a career can spin from promising to over. He wants more than anything else to be a Montreal Canadien in truth as well as in dreams. He tasted it last season for a couple of games and he's not yet willing to entertain thoughts of changing colours to make a slightly different dream come true.

"I don't know. We'll see. I think I'm still in a good spot," he attests. "I'm with the Montreal Canadiens. I could not ask for better. But we'll see how it goes. If next year I don't have my place (in the NHL), I don't know what I'm gonna do. But I'm going to try this year to make my place during the season."

It's a tall order for a small player who needs to be on a team's top-two lines to succeed. In Montreal, the season opens with all of those positions filled for the foreseeable future. Desharnais can only put his head down, work like Gionta and hope Fate takes a hand in making his dream come true.

On this day, one of the great players to have worn the uniform Desharnais so longs to don is in the stands to watch. Bob Gainey is taking in the game with an eye on prospects who might be able to help the Canadiens if needed this year. Desharnais is impressive. He scores two goals, both by driving hard to the net and fighting traffic for rebounds. He's fast and he makes smart decisions. He knows he's been impressive, but he firmly says the person he's working hardest to impress is himself.

"I'm always...no matter who's in the stands or no matter what, it's for me. If I want to be up there, I have to work hard every night. I don't care who's in the stands. It's just the way I am. I play hard every night."

Desharnais is set to burn up the AHL this season. It's the only way he knows to make the team he's followed since he was a boy pay attention to him. He's hoping hard work and skill will be enough to make people forget his size and give him a real chance to trade in the snarling bulldog on his sweater for a shiny new CH.

Blowing a Gasket

If Michael Cammalleri gets suspended to start the new NHL season, he's got nobody to blame but himself. When he took his stick to 18-year-old Nino Niederreiter in a nothing pre-season game against the Islanders, he looked like an ass.

Sure, Niederreiter tried to blindside Cammalleri. Fortunately, he missed. At that point, Cammalleri needed to go back to his bench and mention to Ryan White or Alex Henry that perhaps the new kid needed to learn a lesson. Alternatively, he could have challenged the kid to a fight. Using the stick to hit him, not once, but twice, was really pointless. It didn't really hurt Niederreiter, who probably overacted when he collapsed in apparent pain. It didn't change the course of the game because the opponent was so far inferior to the Canadiens. And it opened Cammalleri to league discipline and smudged his reputation.

Everybody gets angry when an opponent tries something dirty. In the case of a guy like Cammalleri, who's getting fouled every time he's on the ice, there's got to be a limit to his patience. But even so, he's got to remember he's a man who's trying to carve up a boy. There are better ways to make a point. In Cammalleri's case, he's not just any man, either. He's the top-line sniper on whom his team depends to win real hockey games. Losing it against a nobody in a nothing game could now cost his team an important player in a game or games that actually count for something. That's irresponsible on Cammalleri's part, and his stickwork is the kind of thing opponents don't forget. They know they can make him lose it, and that there's a chance he'll do something stupid or dirty.

And make no mistake, it was dirty. Whatever Niederreiter did or attempted to do, Cammalleri's reaction was cheap and dirty. A player of Cammalleri's experience, age and value to the team just can't react that way. If he gets suspended, it will hurt the team. That's just not good enough.

Who Let the Dogs Out?

When Bob Gainey walked into the Joe Byrne Memorial Stadium in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland today, he looked up at the low ceiling and the few hundred seats, smiled and said, "This is old-time hockey." The setting might have been old-time, but the hockey between the Hamilton Bulldogs and the Binghamton Senators was fresh, fast and exciting. It was likely the best many fans in the sell-out crowd had ever seen in person.
It was definitely the first time the local arena announcer had to deal with French, Russian and Swedish names. After struggling with "Klubertanz" (Clubber-tents), "Engqvist" (En-gist) and "Fortier" (Four-tear) while reading the team lineups, the guy announced, "And there are a couple more I'm not even going to try. I give up."

After a bit of a slow start, the 'Dogs looked really good. Randy Cunneyworth is doing something similar to Jacques Martin, in pairing up two parts of a line, then mixing in different players as the third guy. That may stop when the real season begins and he's more certain about his lines. Today, Desharnais and Wyman were almost always together, often with Palushaj as the game went on. Dumont and Fortier made a nice grinding/energy pair and Avtsin skated with Palushaj and with Conboy.

Among the Canadiens prospects, there were a few real standouts. First star of the game, and the most impressive player on the ice for either team, was David Desharnais. He's going to dominate the AHL if he stays healthy this year. He had two goals today, both of them the result of driving to the net and hanging out in dangerous territory. He killed the first minute of every Bulldogs penalty and he won most of his faceoffs. He was quick and opportunistic every time he was on the ice.

Aaron Palushaj was also very noticable. He assisted on both Desharnais goals and was generally involved in something on every shift. He's a good skater and goes to the net to make things happen. He's a high-energy player.

In goal, Peter Delmas was third star of the game. He was solid and made some very nice saves, especially early when the 'Dogs spent a lot of time in their own end. He'll probably end up in Wheeling when Curtis Sanford comes back from injury, but he looks like he could play in the AHL.

Andreas Engqvist didn't have a great game. He's a smooth, strong skater, but he didn't do much with the puck today. He lost a lot of his faceoffs cleanly and he didn't spend much time in the corners.

Gabriel Dumont is a sparkplug. He scored the game's first goal off a nice feed by Olivier Fortier. Both of those guys forechecked aggressively and were solid defensively and on the PK. After seeing them together for a few shifts, they became inseparable in the fan's minds. They just go well together.

Alexander Avtsin is going to be a really good player. He's big and had no problem throwing his weight around when needed. He also wasn't a bit shy about going into the corners or the crease if that's where the puck was. He's got some serious speed when he gets going, but the most impressive thing about him are his hands. This kid can handle the puck. In one sequence, while the 'Dogs were on the PP, Mathieu Carle coralled the puck at the blueline and dumped it blindly into the corner. Avtsin intercepted it behind his back, then passed it between his legs to himself and managed to get a shot off, all in one movement. Very impressive stuff. On the other hand, it's obvious he's just 19 and struggling to understand the coach's English instructions. Sometimes he just looked like he wasn't sure where he was supposed to be, and a there were a couple of times when under pressure he just threw the puck away. Still, there's a lot of talent in that kid if the team can develop him properly.

Mathieu Carle was the best defenceman in the 'Dogs lineup. He had two assists, both on Desharnais goals, and his passing was crisp and accurate. He played a strong positional game, and quarterbacked the PP nicely.

The game ended 3-2 for the Bulldogs, but by the time the third rolled around, they were in control. Bob Gainey had to have been pleased with what he saw, and he was watching closely. He spent both intermissions signing autographs for long lines of fans, but stopped when the game started up again so he wouldn't miss anything. Even so, when Desharnais scored just 35 seconds into the second, Gainey was signing someone's shirt and looked mildly annoyed to have missed the goal. The Joe Byrne is not the kind of rink that provides instant replay on the big screen. In an old-time hockey atmosphere, the young 'Dogs gave a lot of Habs hope for a really promising future. When the final siren sounded, they left happy. Bob Gainey almost smiled.

Gimme a D!

The first rule of pre-season is: it's pre-season. Established NHL hockey players do not push themselves in pre-season games. The point of those games is to let the real players ease up to game speed, while the coaches watch the prospects and try-outs for possibilities. Those are the guys who play like their jocks are filled with itching powder. So, when Ryan White looks fantastic in camp, it's because he's trying to win a job. And when Scott Gomez looks lackadaisical it's because he's already got one. (Listening to Pierre McGuire criticize Gomez' "compete level" in an exhibition game won the prize for Most Ridiculous Pre-Season Comment.) There's no explanation for Tomas Plekanec.

In any event, with some guys trying like hell and others just trying not to hurt themselves, fans can't really draw a whole lot of valid conclusions about the team based on pre-season. Lines are all over the place, only half the team is playing at a time and important guys aren't yet at full speed. Still, even with the understanding that pre-season has its definite limitations, some things are so glaringly obvious, they can't be dismissed.

One thing the pre-season has revealed for Habs fans is that there are some serious problems on defence. With Andrei Markov and Roman Hamrlik yet to play any kind of game, there's doubt about whether either of them will be ready to start the season. Markov almost certainly won't. Last year, when Markov went down in the first game of the year, Hamrlik and Spacek were the ones who really stepped up and took on those top minutes. They were the guys who kept the team from a total swan dive. This time around, Hamrlik's hurt too. Spacek, well, frankly, he's been scary in the pre-season.

Scott Gomez, in his memorable cameo as CJAD colour man last week joked that his third star of the game would be Spacek because, "He finally figured out our guys are in the red jerseys and he didn't make five giveaways. It's a big step for him." He was joking, but he had reason for the comment. Other regulars have looked a bit slow or have ducked a hit or two. Spacek has been terrible. He's been giving the puck away, failing to clear it, failing to keep his man off the front of his net and getting caught out of position. A lot. It may be a pre-season thing, but it's not encouraging to see such a level of confusion on the part of the only remaining senior member of the top four.

Hal Gill and Josh Gorges are their usual solid bottom-pairing selves. That's important and valuable, but they can't replace a functioning top pair.

P.K.Subban is a kid. He's a phenomenally talented kid, but he's impetuous and emotional. He's taken seven minor penalties, four of them stupid, during the pre-season. He's still inclined to take big chances on offence that will inevitably lead to him getting caught on D. He'll take penalties to make up for getting caught, and the resulting PKs will cost the team goals. It happened in Hamilton last year, and it will continue in Montreal this year. In a year or two, he's going to be a star. Right now, though, he's a kid who's going to make a lot of mistakes as he learns how to become that star. He should not be the guy people look at to solve the team's defensive problems.

Ryan O'Byrne is a tall, cool drink of potential that's been stymied by misfortune and a lack of confidence. That's not getting any better. We saw him in the last game against Buffalo let himself be stripped by a guy who won't be in the NHL this year, costing a goal. When he went back to the bench, the TV camera focused on him. His expression was just crushed. He knew the coach isn't a fan of his, and he knew his mistake was a perfect example of the kind of play Martin hates. He knew he was fighting for a spot and his hopes took a blow with that play.

Alex Henry is a big, reliable minor-league defenceman who's great if the play is directly in front of him. He's tough and will fight, but if Ovechkin is coming down on him, chances are, he'll lose that battle. Yannick Weber is a smart, small guy who's positionally sound, but can get pushed around. He's also as much a rookie as Subban. The best two physical defencemen the team has drafted in years are trying out for the Rangers right now.

All in all, the Canadiens will start the season with a pretty iffy situation on the blueline. It may yet turn out great. All indications during pre-season, though, say it's going to be rough on the back end for a while. Then again, the first rule of pre-season is: it's pre-season.