This big convincing win against Detroit is enough for a lot of Canadiens fans to remove their tank commander helmets and do a triple-gainer back onto the bandwagon. I know I may have tripped into the lifeboat in my haste to abandon ship, but now, unlike Captain Schettino, I'm contemplating getting back on board the good ship Glorieux.
This was an enjoyable game to watch for another reason than its final score. It was refreshing to see a game played at a high pace and without all the meaningless scrums and facewashes and crosschecking after the play was over. When the goalie froze the puck, both teams would stop, separate, and skate to the faceoff circle for the puck drop. I imagined how the Bruins or the Chris Neils would have reacted to a 5-0 deficit. They would have busted out the brass knuckles and taped on some foil, reanimated the corpse of Lyndon Byers, cried "Lucic" and let slip the McQuaids of war.
I loved the way the Canadiens were sedate and classy in their goal celebrations once the game was getting out of hand for the Wings. The guys congratulated each other but there were no histrionics and no mugging for the cameras. Good stuff. This is the kind of team I want to root for.
Early in the game I observed that when Scott Gomez grabs the puck in the defensive zone, he's one of the few Canadiens who seems like he wants it and knows what to do with it, namely to skate it into the opposite zone. Say what we will, he compares favourably to the putative Canadiens powerplay quarterbacks who appear as if they'd rather not have the puck on their blade, and skate listlessly into the neutral zone already convinced that their efforts will lead to naught. His decisiveness and relative competence may be how he seduces his coaches to allot him seemingly more icetime than you would think he was entitled to. As I was formulating this thought, he whisked his cross-ice pass to René Bourque for the opening goal. The Canadiens, frustratingly, are a better team with him in the lineup than they are without him. That speaks volumes to the lack of depth on the team, but that's the boat we're in.
We also observed a strong game from Tomas Plekanec and René Bourque. Both scored and we can hope that these two can build on this and develop some chemistry. Tomas especially seemed more confident, effective and dangerous on offence. The effort was there in previous games, but he seemed to be flailing and erratic. As much as it was seductive to think that he and Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta could skate circles around the opposition, they never seemed to jell. Let's hope Tomas' new linemate will be a better complement.
Poor undersized overmatched David Desharnais had all he could handle against the powerhouse Wings, all he could muster was two goals and an assist. Evidently a hat trick or even a Gordie Howe hat trick is beyond him. To think we have this guy under contract for another year at almost a million per, what are we going to do with him?
In all seriousness, there was an interesting graphic on RDS a few games back comparing him with Martin St. Louis, an obvious point of reference due to their diminutive size and tortuous route to the NHL. It showed that both first made the NHL at 23 years of age, and that after the same number of games David's scoring pace was twice that of Mr. St. Louis. We can only dream. I'll start the collection for David to attend Martin's summertime conditioning sessions.
P.K. Subban just can't stay out of the headlines. Tonight, again, he demonstrated his consistent boneheadedness and indiscipline. I'd be more incensed if the coaches hadn't reacted well and stapled him to the bench, an effective and just reaction to P.K.'s self-indulgent loss of self-control, which was again, unerringly, followed by a palms up "Who, me?!!?" gesture for the refs. P.K. won't get the benefit of the doubt from any referee for a long, long time now. We can only hope that he can develop a single-minded focus on taking the puck to the opposition net, kind of like Raymond Bourque or Chris Chelios used to do. When they had the puck on their stick, they knew where they were headed, and would fend off the occasional hook or slash on their way to the net. It was almost as if they took them for granted and didn't notice them anymore, it was background noise, extraneous to the task at hand. P.K. needs to improve his concentration and understanding of the game and the situation, and react appropriately to game conditions. Tonight was another flat tire for him on the road to maturity.
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
CTV Sportsnet is horrible
Just changed the channel from Sportsnet’s news, I never watch them since they’re so horrible. They were doing a piece on Mikhail Grabovski and how he could be moved at the trade deadline. First, former goon Nick Kypreos, who had a forgettable career except for how he took out Grant Fuhr in one playoff by falling on him and rupturing his ACL and effectively ending his career, anyway, this monument to the absence of credibility pipes up by saying that the Leafs centres aren’t going to get the job done if they get into the playoffs, going up “against the Rangers, the Bruins, and the, …, uh, the Rangers….” Another talking head, having done 20 seconds of research, explains that Mr. Grabovski would be a ‘perfect fit’ in Nashville, ignorant of the fact that he would there be reunited with Sergei Kostitsyn, with who he feuded to such a degree when they were both Canadiens that it got him traded to Toronto in the first place.
Great job Sportsnet. I hope you run the Leafs like you run your sports news desk.
Great job Sportsnet. I hope you run the Leafs like you run your sports news desk.
Red Wings envy
Interesting writeup by Stu Hackel on the Red Wings who we all compare the Canadiens to in terms of organizational strength, managerial acumen and drafting prowess. We envy their stability and the respect they engender across the league.
Watching l’Antichambre tonight, they had on three guests who I had to Google to figure out who they were: Claude Legault, Louis Morissette and Stéphane Archambault. Apparently they are all well-known in Québec, and are all actors and do improv among other talents. In any case, they were there to represent the average fan of the Canadiens, and they were all informed, passionate and engaging. The paradox in their comments is that all three agreed, along with many in the Commentariat, that the Wings is a model franchise in that they have stability instead of lurching from one crisis to another disaster, and their leadership instills respect throughout the league. A minute later though, all three advocated replacing Pierre Gauthier and Bob Gainey relatively quickly. I guess the priority is change now, stability later.
http://www.hockeyinsideout.com/news/wings-fly-into-bell-centre/comment-page-1#comment-604702
Watching l’Antichambre tonight, they had on three guests who I had to Google to figure out who they were: Claude Legault, Louis Morissette and Stéphane Archambault. Apparently they are all well-known in Québec, and are all actors and do improv among other talents. In any case, they were there to represent the average fan of the Canadiens, and they were all informed, passionate and engaging. The paradox in their comments is that all three agreed, along with many in the Commentariat, that the Wings is a model franchise in that they have stability instead of lurching from one crisis to another disaster, and their leadership instills respect throughout the league. A minute later though, all three advocated replacing Pierre Gauthier and Bob Gainey relatively quickly. I guess the priority is change now, stability later.
http://www.hockeyinsideout.com/news/wings-fly-into-bell-centre/comment-page-1#comment-604702
Monday, 23 January 2012
Conscientious objector Tim Thomas
When I first heard of Tim Thomas purposely not attending the White House due to political beliefs, I thought it was indefensible, as I thought he was doing so because President Obama is a Democrat. Mr. Thomas is a vocal conservative, and I thought it was misplaced for him to shun the traditional White House visit for party affiliation reasons. It is important to remember that the White House is 'the people's house', regardless of the identity of the incumbent President, and I thought he had lost sight of that. I now know that Mr. Thomas' reasons are broader and more complex than this, so I am more lenient in my condemnation of his gesture, but I still condemn it.
Tim Thomas' statement explained his refusal to join his teammates due to a belief that the government of the United States is infringing the liberties guaranteed the American people by their Constitution. I find it hard to castigate someone who has deeply held political beliefs and acting on them in a consistent manner. I would be more confident if Mr. Thomas had abstained from visiting the White House if a Republican had been the sitting President. Also, I would feel better about this if Mr. Thomas wasn't a shill for credit card companies and Dunkin' Donuts, among others. How the corporate world, with its monopolistic practices, cavalier disregard for its employees' welfare and the communities they pillage, and the rapacious greed of its executive class, isn't more of a threat to the liberty and well-being of the American people is a difficult position to adopt.
When athletes such as Steve Nash and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf were vocal and acted upon their political beliefs I was supportive of their right to do so, probably because theirs more closely followed mine. So I'm trying to be even-handed when evaluating Mr. Thomas' actions. It's also hard for me to be objective about him since he is a Bruin, and because of his smug countenance when he's in net. He just rubs me the wrong way.
I dislike the way he carried himself at the 2011 All-Star game when Carey Price, an impressionable youngster, was trying to engage him in conversation during the draft. Mr. Thomas steadfastly refused to participate, or even make eye contact or acknowledge Carey, acting as if they were in church and he was trying to listen to the sermon. Later in the season, during a typical Bruins episode of thuggery and aggression in a game against the Canadiens, Mr. Thomas skated the length of the ice to engage Carey, but in a fistfight this time. Sure enough, after a couple of seconds of grappling with the bigger, younger, and stronger Canadiens goalie, he realized that he had bitten off way more than he could chew, and his deeply held personal convictions evaporated. He collapsed to the ice and turtled, and was an 'aw-shucks-no-hard-feelings' good guy when the refs had him separated and let him back up, now more than willing to ingratiate himself to Carey.
As will be discussed by NHL insiders, I believe Tim Thomas has hurt himself and the team with his actions today which will pigeon-hole him with extreme right-wing militia groups in the public's mind, and may roil the waters for the Bruins in the dressing room for a group that had been having relatively smooth sailing for the last while.
Tim Thomas' statement explained his refusal to join his teammates due to a belief that the government of the United States is infringing the liberties guaranteed the American people by their Constitution. I find it hard to castigate someone who has deeply held political beliefs and acting on them in a consistent manner. I would be more confident if Mr. Thomas had abstained from visiting the White House if a Republican had been the sitting President. Also, I would feel better about this if Mr. Thomas wasn't a shill for credit card companies and Dunkin' Donuts, among others. How the corporate world, with its monopolistic practices, cavalier disregard for its employees' welfare and the communities they pillage, and the rapacious greed of its executive class, isn't more of a threat to the liberty and well-being of the American people is a difficult position to adopt.
When athletes such as Steve Nash and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf were vocal and acted upon their political beliefs I was supportive of their right to do so, probably because theirs more closely followed mine. So I'm trying to be even-handed when evaluating Mr. Thomas' actions. It's also hard for me to be objective about him since he is a Bruin, and because of his smug countenance when he's in net. He just rubs me the wrong way.
I dislike the way he carried himself at the 2011 All-Star game when Carey Price, an impressionable youngster, was trying to engage him in conversation during the draft. Mr. Thomas steadfastly refused to participate, or even make eye contact or acknowledge Carey, acting as if they were in church and he was trying to listen to the sermon. Later in the season, during a typical Bruins episode of thuggery and aggression in a game against the Canadiens, Mr. Thomas skated the length of the ice to engage Carey, but in a fistfight this time. Sure enough, after a couple of seconds of grappling with the bigger, younger, and stronger Canadiens goalie, he realized that he had bitten off way more than he could chew, and his deeply held personal convictions evaporated. He collapsed to the ice and turtled, and was an 'aw-shucks-no-hard-feelings' good guy when the refs had him separated and let him back up, now more than willing to ingratiate himself to Carey.
As will be discussed by NHL insiders, I believe Tim Thomas has hurt himself and the team with his actions today which will pigeon-hole him with extreme right-wing militia groups in the public's mind, and may roil the waters for the Bruins in the dressing room for a group that had been having relatively smooth sailing for the last while.
Saturday, 21 January 2012
Game 48: Montréal 3, Toronto 1
Wait, what? We're double-shifting Scott Gomez? Then there's no doubt: we're showcasing him to the many pro scouts in attendance.
A team in the market for Scott Gomez would be looking for a 'pure passer', the purest available anywhere as a matter of fact. Let's put our thinking caps on and figure out which team would be willing to take him on.
This team has a sniper or a couple of wingers who need someone to carry the puck and feed them a diet of soft passes in scoring position. They have an injured centreman or one who is criminally underperforming. They are a cap-floor team and need help in the next few years reaching that level, so they must be a low-revenue team. The team must also be scratching and clawing to get into the playoffs to be ready to embark on such folly, so they must be hovering near the 8th playoff seed in their conference.
Ladies and gentlemen I give you the New Jersey Devils. They think they can spin the return of the prodigal son. We're getting Zach Parisé back. It's in the tea leaves. But I'd accept Travis Zajac if it came down to it.
No? Who then?
The Maple Leafs and Canadiens played as if they don't believe in this whole big rivalry that exists between them either. The game lacked passion and rhythm. The Canadiens didn't seem convinced their playoff lives depended on this game, and they're probably right. The Maple Leafs are a softer touch when Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul aren't filling the net anymore.
Something noteworthy was the fact that the Canadiens didn't get pushed around by Brian Burke's pugnacious Leafs. Adding a Mike Blunden and René Bourque on top of Erik Cole has a significant effect on the makeup of this team. We even saw Travis Moen challenge Mike Komisarek to a fight, an offer which the Leaf defenceman turned down. When was the last time the Canadiens were the aggressors? Good on Travis for issuing the challenge, and then carrying on with his game, and not turning into a Paul Gaustad-Chris Neil-type idiot.
This change in team makeup comes at a cost though. The Leafs seemed to be the speedier team tonight, getting lots of odd-man rushes and breakaways. The Canadiens won't be skating teams into submission anymore.
A word on P.K. Subban. It seems the sharks smell blood in the water. There were mentions tonight on l'Antichambre about P.K.'s self-centeredness, how he rubs people on the team the wrong way, which we've heard before. There were specifics for the first time though, as those in the media feel more comfortable these days breaking the Code of Silence and explaining how he is regularly late for meetings and how, in the words of one confidential source, if there are five team rules, he'll break seven.
These are the kind of details and specifics we rarely get from sports reporters, since they are usually too interested in protecting their access to, uh, report. We usually hear these concrete examples once the player is shipped out of town. This doesn't bode well for our intrepid young defenceman.
A team in the market for Scott Gomez would be looking for a 'pure passer', the purest available anywhere as a matter of fact. Let's put our thinking caps on and figure out which team would be willing to take him on.
This team has a sniper or a couple of wingers who need someone to carry the puck and feed them a diet of soft passes in scoring position. They have an injured centreman or one who is criminally underperforming. They are a cap-floor team and need help in the next few years reaching that level, so they must be a low-revenue team. The team must also be scratching and clawing to get into the playoffs to be ready to embark on such folly, so they must be hovering near the 8th playoff seed in their conference.
Ladies and gentlemen I give you the New Jersey Devils. They think they can spin the return of the prodigal son. We're getting Zach Parisé back. It's in the tea leaves. But I'd accept Travis Zajac if it came down to it.
No? Who then?
The Maple Leafs and Canadiens played as if they don't believe in this whole big rivalry that exists between them either. The game lacked passion and rhythm. The Canadiens didn't seem convinced their playoff lives depended on this game, and they're probably right. The Maple Leafs are a softer touch when Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul aren't filling the net anymore.
Something noteworthy was the fact that the Canadiens didn't get pushed around by Brian Burke's pugnacious Leafs. Adding a Mike Blunden and René Bourque on top of Erik Cole has a significant effect on the makeup of this team. We even saw Travis Moen challenge Mike Komisarek to a fight, an offer which the Leaf defenceman turned down. When was the last time the Canadiens were the aggressors? Good on Travis for issuing the challenge, and then carrying on with his game, and not turning into a Paul Gaustad-Chris Neil-type idiot.
This change in team makeup comes at a cost though. The Leafs seemed to be the speedier team tonight, getting lots of odd-man rushes and breakaways. The Canadiens won't be skating teams into submission anymore.
A word on P.K. Subban. It seems the sharks smell blood in the water. There were mentions tonight on l'Antichambre about P.K.'s self-centeredness, how he rubs people on the team the wrong way, which we've heard before. There were specifics for the first time though, as those in the media feel more comfortable these days breaking the Code of Silence and explaining how he is regularly late for meetings and how, in the words of one confidential source, if there are five team rules, he'll break seven.
These are the kind of details and specifics we rarely get from sports reporters, since they are usually too interested in protecting their access to, uh, report. We usually hear these concrete examples once the player is shipped out of town. This doesn't bode well for our intrepid young defenceman.
Maple Leaf blues
Contrary to many, I don’t hate or even dislike the Maple Leafs.
I resent the disproportionate amount of coverage this second-rate squad got through their years of awfulness. I hate having their games consistently on HNIC at the expense of the Canadiens and Senators.
I used to hate the Leafs when they had criminals and psychopaths in their lineup: Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi, Wade Belak. I hated them then. Now they have a good roster, and quite a few players I’d like to have on my team. I don’t mind this team.
The whole Toronto-Montreal ‘rivalry’ is a Toronto media creation anyway. Growing up as a French Canadian kid watching hockey in the 70′s and 80′s, the only teams that mattered were the Islanders, the Oilers, the usurpers who were trying to break the Canadiens records. We hated the Bruins and the Flyers. We hated the Nordiques very quickly after they joined the league, and hated them with white hot intensity. I still seethe and clench my fists when I see Dale Hunter. I still think he should be in jail.
When I started speaking English and having to watch hockey on CBC, I was dumbfounded to hear that we were embroiled in this great rivalry with the Toronto Maple Leafs. I had never heard a peep about that on La Soirée du Hockey. I never had an inkling that this ridiculous team with Tiger Williams and Mike Palmateer and Harold Ballard that we swept two years in a row in the opening series of the playoffs was one of our rivals.
So I want to win the game tonight, I want to beat the Leafs, but I’d trade two wins against them for one against the Bruins anytime.
If the Leafs are successful and do well, good for them. They’re a hard working team, I won’t begrudge them their good fortune, but I’ll change the channel when TSN goes on a 12 minute elegy on how awesome they are. Unless Jennifer or Natasha is talking. Whatever they’re selling, I’m willing to listen.
I resent the disproportionate amount of coverage this second-rate squad got through their years of awfulness. I hate having their games consistently on HNIC at the expense of the Canadiens and Senators.
I used to hate the Leafs when they had criminals and psychopaths in their lineup: Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi, Wade Belak. I hated them then. Now they have a good roster, and quite a few players I’d like to have on my team. I don’t mind this team.
The whole Toronto-Montreal ‘rivalry’ is a Toronto media creation anyway. Growing up as a French Canadian kid watching hockey in the 70′s and 80′s, the only teams that mattered were the Islanders, the Oilers, the usurpers who were trying to break the Canadiens records. We hated the Bruins and the Flyers. We hated the Nordiques very quickly after they joined the league, and hated them with white hot intensity. I still seethe and clench my fists when I see Dale Hunter. I still think he should be in jail.
When I started speaking English and having to watch hockey on CBC, I was dumbfounded to hear that we were embroiled in this great rivalry with the Toronto Maple Leafs. I had never heard a peep about that on La Soirée du Hockey. I never had an inkling that this ridiculous team with Tiger Williams and Mike Palmateer and Harold Ballard that we swept two years in a row in the opening series of the playoffs was one of our rivals.
So I want to win the game tonight, I want to beat the Leafs, but I’d trade two wins against them for one against the Bruins anytime.
If the Leafs are successful and do well, good for them. They’re a hard working team, I won’t begrudge them their good fortune, but I’ll change the channel when TSN goes on a 12 minute elegy on how awesome they are. Unless Jennifer or Natasha is talking. Whatever they’re selling, I’m willing to listen.
Friday, 20 January 2012
Game 47: Montréal 4, Pittsburgh 5 (SO)
Where to start? I could go on and on about giving Scott Gomez the opportunity to take a shootout attempt. In terms of strategy, and in terms of setting an example to the team that performance and effort and results will be rewarded, what a horrible coach's decision. Mr. Cunneyworth must have been playing a huge hunch, and Mr. Gomez responded by rolling snake eyes. Maybe Mr. Cunneyworth has thrown in the towel too, and doesn't believe he'll be here beyond the spring. In this case, he should understand that the rest of the season is his audition for another job. Not too many GM's will look favourably on this and other headscratchers he's made lately.
This near-win was brought to you by Marc-André Fleury. He appeared weak on two Montreal goals, and staked the Canadiens a two-goal lead twice. As a trusty veteran though, he shut the door in the third period and allowed his team to come back.
Peter Budaj, meanwhile, battled the puck all game, with a few Palmateeresque saves as he flopped around like a dolphin in a tuna net, the puck ping-ponging around him. What seemed early on to be a good decision to rest Carey Price didn't turn out well. He, as opposed to Mr. Fleury, got weaker as the game progressed. He ended playing just well enough to lose.
Two of my whipping boys, Andrei Kostitsyn and Tomas Kaberle, both tallied two points, which is positive in that this will help their eventual trade value. Mr. Kaberle was so awful defensively on some sequences that I laughed out loud out loud. Andrei was productive, cashing in some opportunities. I noticed him a couple of times trying to carry the puck into the offensive zone, which affirmed the perception that he's a sniper but not much of a playmaker.
David Desharnais again punched above his weight class, buzzing around in the offensive zone, fighting hard along the boards, and I observed two solid, effective bodychecks against bigger opponents that separated them from the puck.
The unavoidable topic of conversation though is P.K. Subban's theatrics tonight. Personally, I give up on him. He's now in the Darcy Tucker-Claude Lemieux category, a player I'm ashamed to have on my team. His outburst on the bench with assistant coach Randy Ladouceur was embarrassing. Anyone, with any sense at all, knows that you don't argue with your boss. Especially in front of your coworkers. With 20 000 spectators watching and TV cameras pointed at you. That he went ahead and did so shows a significant lack of intellect, or at least emotional intelligence. Immediately after, during his shift on the Max Pacioretty goal, he was a whirling dervish, streaking up and down the ice trying to make things happen, being everywhere on the ice except where he should have been. When Peter Budaj made his outlet pass to Erik Cole, P.K. was nowhere in sight, having rushed far up the ice and generated an odd-man rush for the Penguins.
In the overtime period, P.K. was partnered with Josh Gorges and received an easy cross-ice pass from him as they were setting up the rush. They weren't being pressured and had clear possession of the puck, yet P.K. ineffectually, with complete lack of concentration and effort, muddled the puck back over to him, but softly and behind Josh, so that he had to turn around and race back to corral the puck in the corner. Josh got to wrestle with some big Penguins forwards for a few seconds and had his face tattooed on the glass for his trouble. I'll stress again that what was a routine situation turned into a life or death situation that Josh Gorges had to sacrifice and battle to rectify, solely due to Mr. Subban's putrid play and hockey IQ.
P.K. seems to be all wrapped up in himself. On the ice, he overthinks everything and expends effort at the wrong time, making the difficult play instead of the easy one way too often, but conversely doesn't bear down on the simple passes and places himself and his team in trouble.
During the preamble to the scrap between Chris Kunitz and Max Pacioretty, he rushed at Mr. Kunitz, seemingly to avenge a hard but clean hit on Erik Cole. Sure enough, all he did was yap and whirl around and let others do the fighting. That would have been a great time for him to expend some of that vaunted energy of his, and to display some of the gym strength he works so hard to attain. If not, he should just shut his yap and not try to start trouble.
I'll say it again. P.K. and Andrei Kostitsyn should be the nucleus of a package for Shea Weber.
Of course, trying to trade him now, when he has cratered his own trade value, and when the Canadiens are desperate and not dealing with other teams from a position of strength, is tantamount to organizational suicide, but the time has come to consider if trading him away would be a case of addition by subtraction.
Which means that what must happen is for Mr. Subban to get some sense and humility and discipline drilled into him. He needs to sit out three games and enjoy the view from the pressbox. Even better, let's send him to Hamilton for 10-20 games to find his game. And yes I'm serious.
This near-win was brought to you by Marc-André Fleury. He appeared weak on two Montreal goals, and staked the Canadiens a two-goal lead twice. As a trusty veteran though, he shut the door in the third period and allowed his team to come back.
Peter Budaj, meanwhile, battled the puck all game, with a few Palmateeresque saves as he flopped around like a dolphin in a tuna net, the puck ping-ponging around him. What seemed early on to be a good decision to rest Carey Price didn't turn out well. He, as opposed to Mr. Fleury, got weaker as the game progressed. He ended playing just well enough to lose.
Two of my whipping boys, Andrei Kostitsyn and Tomas Kaberle, both tallied two points, which is positive in that this will help their eventual trade value. Mr. Kaberle was so awful defensively on some sequences that I laughed out loud out loud. Andrei was productive, cashing in some opportunities. I noticed him a couple of times trying to carry the puck into the offensive zone, which affirmed the perception that he's a sniper but not much of a playmaker.
David Desharnais again punched above his weight class, buzzing around in the offensive zone, fighting hard along the boards, and I observed two solid, effective bodychecks against bigger opponents that separated them from the puck.
The unavoidable topic of conversation though is P.K. Subban's theatrics tonight. Personally, I give up on him. He's now in the Darcy Tucker-Claude Lemieux category, a player I'm ashamed to have on my team. His outburst on the bench with assistant coach Randy Ladouceur was embarrassing. Anyone, with any sense at all, knows that you don't argue with your boss. Especially in front of your coworkers. With 20 000 spectators watching and TV cameras pointed at you. That he went ahead and did so shows a significant lack of intellect, or at least emotional intelligence. Immediately after, during his shift on the Max Pacioretty goal, he was a whirling dervish, streaking up and down the ice trying to make things happen, being everywhere on the ice except where he should have been. When Peter Budaj made his outlet pass to Erik Cole, P.K. was nowhere in sight, having rushed far up the ice and generated an odd-man rush for the Penguins.
In the overtime period, P.K. was partnered with Josh Gorges and received an easy cross-ice pass from him as they were setting up the rush. They weren't being pressured and had clear possession of the puck, yet P.K. ineffectually, with complete lack of concentration and effort, muddled the puck back over to him, but softly and behind Josh, so that he had to turn around and race back to corral the puck in the corner. Josh got to wrestle with some big Penguins forwards for a few seconds and had his face tattooed on the glass for his trouble. I'll stress again that what was a routine situation turned into a life or death situation that Josh Gorges had to sacrifice and battle to rectify, solely due to Mr. Subban's putrid play and hockey IQ.
P.K. seems to be all wrapped up in himself. On the ice, he overthinks everything and expends effort at the wrong time, making the difficult play instead of the easy one way too often, but conversely doesn't bear down on the simple passes and places himself and his team in trouble.
During the preamble to the scrap between Chris Kunitz and Max Pacioretty, he rushed at Mr. Kunitz, seemingly to avenge a hard but clean hit on Erik Cole. Sure enough, all he did was yap and whirl around and let others do the fighting. That would have been a great time for him to expend some of that vaunted energy of his, and to display some of the gym strength he works so hard to attain. If not, he should just shut his yap and not try to start trouble.
I'll say it again. P.K. and Andrei Kostitsyn should be the nucleus of a package for Shea Weber.
Of course, trying to trade him now, when he has cratered his own trade value, and when the Canadiens are desperate and not dealing with other teams from a position of strength, is tantamount to organizational suicide, but the time has come to consider if trading him away would be a case of addition by subtraction.
Which means that what must happen is for Mr. Subban to get some sense and humility and discipline drilled into him. He needs to sit out three games and enjoy the view from the pressbox. Even better, let's send him to Hamilton for 10-20 games to find his game. And yes I'm serious.
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Hey sportscaster!
"Once referred to as a living legend, Burke will now be immortalized forever..." Katherine Dolan of TSN.
Hey Katherine Dolan! When you say someone will be immortalized, you don't need to add forever, it's redundant. Once someone is immortal (literally immune to death), it's forever. If not, they are not immortal.
Just saying.
immortalize, immortalise [ɪˈmɔːtəˌlaɪz]
vb (tr)
1. to give everlasting fame to, as by treating in a literary work Macbeth was immortalized by Shakespeare
2. to give immortality to
Hey Katherine Dolan! When you say someone will be immortalized, you don't need to add forever, it's redundant. Once someone is immortal (literally immune to death), it's forever. If not, they are not immortal.
Just saying.
immortalize, immortalise [ɪˈmɔːtəˌlaɪz]
vb (tr)
1. to give everlasting fame to, as by treating in a literary work Macbeth was immortalized by Shakespeare
2. to give immortality to
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Game 45: Montréal 4, New York Rangers 1
Pierre Gauthier has publicly confirmed what many fans have been screaming for years: the Canadiens were too small as a team and need to get bigger. We saw that in the first and second period for long stretches when the big Rangers forwards (Brian Boyle, 6'7", 244 lbs., Mike Rupp, 6'5", 243 lbs.) kept the Canadiens bottled up in their zone with effective, aggressive forechecking. The smaller Montreal defencemen were a little bit skittish along the boards, their heads on a swivel, as they tried to escape with their lives and brain cells intact rather than the puck.
Getting bigger is not an unalloyed boon though, as we saw what the Rangers size meant in terms of lack of mobility. Time and again, Tomas Plekanec, David Desharnais and even Scott Gomez, buzzed around the Rangers zone, their quickness, agility and artistry with the puck too much for the lumbering behemoths in white.
It is clear that what the Canadiens have been lacking is not solely size and strength. If they had had more finish around the net, more production from the putative goal scorers on the team, and if the powerplay had not been so impotent, they would be comfortably in the playoff seeding and battling for position.
I do agree that the Canadiens need to inject some size and toughness in their lineup, given the conditions that exist with referees overlooking slashes and hooks that were automatic calls after the lockout in 2005, and the Reign of Error of Bettman, Campbell and Jacobs. I wonder how much worse than Chris Campoli or Hal Gill or Tomas Kaberle Shane O'Brien would have had to be to not improve this squad.
The Canadiens can skate and score the goon teams into submission, kind of like the Red Wings do, and like we've done frequently with the Bruins, but an important component of that formula is the scoring part.
Tonight the #1 line played as such, after a few games of relatively meager production. This game should serve as the final nail in the coffin of the line juggling that was rampant this season. In the Post-Cammalleri era, the David Desharnais line has established itself as the best offensive line. Any mix and matching that might occur should be limited to the other lines. The Lars Eller line might be more susceptible to being broken up with the Travis Moen injury tonight, and the benching of its other two members. This might help find a proper fit for newcomer René Bourque, who played with conviction in his first game as a Glorieux and after a five-game suspension.
Mike Blunden again proved his worth. In his last game against the Rangers in New York, he was assessed an undeserved interference penalty on top of a too-many-men penalty to the Canadiens bench, and he seemed to be punished for that by being made a healthy scratch and then sent back to Hamilton. We saw during the game that his size and enthusiasm is a complement to his smaller teammates. As long as he plays at the same pace, he should be in the lineup.
Another positive point is an easy, assured win from Peter Budaj. Apparently he's a very hard worker during practice, and his game may be improving. Certainly his confidence will improve after defeating the top team in the Eastern Conference, and hopefully the team will also believe in him and not think that unless Carey is in net they have no hope.
Getting bigger is not an unalloyed boon though, as we saw what the Rangers size meant in terms of lack of mobility. Time and again, Tomas Plekanec, David Desharnais and even Scott Gomez, buzzed around the Rangers zone, their quickness, agility and artistry with the puck too much for the lumbering behemoths in white.
It is clear that what the Canadiens have been lacking is not solely size and strength. If they had had more finish around the net, more production from the putative goal scorers on the team, and if the powerplay had not been so impotent, they would be comfortably in the playoff seeding and battling for position.
I do agree that the Canadiens need to inject some size and toughness in their lineup, given the conditions that exist with referees overlooking slashes and hooks that were automatic calls after the lockout in 2005, and the Reign of Error of Bettman, Campbell and Jacobs. I wonder how much worse than Chris Campoli or Hal Gill or Tomas Kaberle Shane O'Brien would have had to be to not improve this squad.
The Canadiens can skate and score the goon teams into submission, kind of like the Red Wings do, and like we've done frequently with the Bruins, but an important component of that formula is the scoring part.
Tonight the #1 line played as such, after a few games of relatively meager production. This game should serve as the final nail in the coffin of the line juggling that was rampant this season. In the Post-Cammalleri era, the David Desharnais line has established itself as the best offensive line. Any mix and matching that might occur should be limited to the other lines. The Lars Eller line might be more susceptible to being broken up with the Travis Moen injury tonight, and the benching of its other two members. This might help find a proper fit for newcomer René Bourque, who played with conviction in his first game as a Glorieux and after a five-game suspension.
Mike Blunden again proved his worth. In his last game against the Rangers in New York, he was assessed an undeserved interference penalty on top of a too-many-men penalty to the Canadiens bench, and he seemed to be punished for that by being made a healthy scratch and then sent back to Hamilton. We saw during the game that his size and enthusiasm is a complement to his smaller teammates. As long as he plays at the same pace, he should be in the lineup.
Another positive point is an easy, assured win from Peter Budaj. Apparently he's a very hard worker during practice, and his game may be improving. Certainly his confidence will improve after defeating the top team in the Eastern Conference, and hopefully the team will also believe in him and not think that unless Carey is in net they have no hope.
Grammar minute 2
In a skit on Saturday Night Live, Kristen Wiig played a flawed mayoral candidate who preemptively produced and aired her own attack ads on herself. Funny, good concept.
In one ad, she explained that she had two daughters, but preferred "the youngest". Many references were later made to the youngest and oldest daughters.
Clearly, they should have been referred to as the 'younger' and 'older' daughters.
In one ad, she explained that she had two daughters, but preferred "the youngest". Many references were later made to the youngest and oldest daughters.
Clearly, they should have been referred to as the 'younger' and 'older' daughters.
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