My thoughts

Do all the rumors and trash talk have an impact on your team?

This is something that’s been debated a little here and there. Do you think that all the wild trade rumors, all the crazy fan bantor where people cook up 100 different scenarios to “get rid of” or get a certain player ultimately have an impact on how players feel about playing in certain cities.

I asked myself this question a couple of times today after Tony Marino said on the Team990 that he thought it might be a possibility that people could eventually run Carey Price out of town.

Fans naturally have tons of emotion…. really, people have tons of emotion, about all kinds of stuff…. like that driver in front of you who’s driving to slow, maybe that pisses you off…. or maybe it’s the guy/gal riding your bumper.

Maybe it’s a GM who just pulled off a deal trading away your (current) favorite goaltender and you’ve just ground down all your teeth… tearing your vocal chords apart while screaming in horror.
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Lots cooking in another summer of changes

Since the end of the Habs playoff run there have been many changes and to me it feels like a kind of sequel to last summer…. however not in the same mesure we saw last season.

Jaroslav Halak is long gone to his new job with the St Louis Blues and it still seems as though some fans will hold on to that one for the months to come.

New arrivals Lars Eller and Ian Schultz, who came over in that Halak trade, will be at the Habs development camp from the 6th of July until the 9th. Yeah…. camp starts today!!

On July 1st, I had been hopeful that Gauthier would be able to sign Ellis…. but it didn’t happen. And one can’t really blame Ellis as in Tampa he’ll certain get his shot at being number 1.

On on the goalie front I believe this does mark a year of change… as Price will be the Habs number 1 goaltender going into this season. He had been etched in at number 1 before, but still being so young…. behind both Huet and then behind Halak who caught fire, he had some time to taste the NHL pressure cooker…. taste the pressure, the good times and the hard times.

I think Price did some maturing last season while Halak was getting all the playing time judging by how he seem cool with the media.

No big UFA signings this year…. and I wouldn’t have expected it. I saw some people were forever hopeful that somehow the salary cap would be forgotten and we’d end up with a Kovalchuck… but really. That’s a demand for the miraculous.

I’m hoping to get back to blogging alot in coming days. It’s a busy time for me and days, weeks are flying by….

As for the Habs development camp… here’s the list of players attending!
Name 2009-10 team
AVTSIN, Alexander Dynamo Moscow (Russia)
BRISEBOIS, François Colgate (ECAC)
BRUNELLE, Jonathan Drummondville (QMJHL)
CONBOY, Andrew Hamilton (AHL)
ELLER, Lars Peoria (AHL)
ELLIS, Morgan Cape Breton (QMJHL)
ENGQVIST, Andreas Djurgarden (Sweden)
GALLAGHER, Brendan Vancouver (WHL)
KLUBERTANZ, Kyle Djurgarden (Sweden)
MacMILLAN, Mark Alberni (BCHL)
MAXWELL, Benjamin Hamilton (AHL)
MAYER, Robert Hamilton (AHL)
PALUSHAJ, Aaron Hamilton (AHL)
PATERYN, Greg Michigan (CCHA)
QUATTROCCHI, Joseph Fort McMurray (AJHL)
SCHULTZ, Ian Calgary (WHL)
St-DENIS, Frédéric Hamilton (AHL)
SUBBAN, P.K. Hamilton (AHL)
TINORDI, Jarred USA U-18 (USHL)
WEBER, Yannick Hamilton (AHL)
WESTIN, John Modo (Sweden)
WHITE, Ryan Hamilton (AHL)

Montreal Canadiens can’t quite beat the Flyers

First off, I’d like to say congrats to the Philadelphia Flyers on their win and the trip to the finals. It stings a bit because the Habs were battling as a team so well.

But credit to the Flyers and Peter Laviolette for the way they played the Canadiens. I thought they played a very different game plan then the Penguins and Capitals did.

The big difference was that they didn’t seem to concentrate so much on “scoring goals”.. or how to beat Halak. They collapsed defensively much better then both the Pens and Caps. They played a better defensive game against the Canadiens.
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My Birthday, the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders…. 1993

The year was 1993 and the day was the 14th of May 1993. It happened to be a friday night (just like tonight) and it was also my birthday (as it was today).

I had been watching the Montreal Canadiens season coming into the playoffs and was glued to most of those games just as I am today with Habs games.

Had just seen the the Quebec Nordiques win the 2 first games of their series vs the Habs and then the improbable comback of 4 straight wins vs Quebec.

Then there was the Canadiens – Sabres series that saw the Canadiens make short work of Buffalo in 4 games with the last 3 in OT. Lot’s of OTs that year.
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For those of you who riot while fans celebrate in Montreal

I just wanted to write a few words here to you who so choose to riot and loot downtown Montreal whenever the Habs win or loose. I’ve noticed that it doesn’t seem to matter to you folk whether it’s a win or a loss… just seems that you’re filled with fervor to get out there and break stuff.

You see… in life people tend to generalize and associate. It’s happened again and again throughout human history and for a wide variety of reasons it will continue to happen. Sometimes when these generalized associations happen you get lumped into a category or into an idea by the person or group of people doing the associating.

Get it?

So yesterday on CNN Rick Sanchez’s show they showed and he talked about your looting and your seeming love of wrecking your own downtown businesses.

Rick Sanchez refers to the fans here… “they”… etc.
Click here to see the footage

The point of this is not to criticize Rick Sanchez. Not at all. He’s reporting what he’s seeing in the everyday news media fashion we see.

What the point here is folks, is I’ve been associated with you looters. Because I’m a fan of one of the most storied franchises in sports history. Le CH. Les Canadiens. The Habs. The Montreal Canadiens.

I don’t really care for being associated with you folks who go out and loot your own downtown community whether your team looses or wins. You make every honest, passionate Habs fan look bad.

A friend of mine, Josh who happens to be a Leaf’s fan and does a great job in video work, made this little parody NHL commercial because of what he saw.

Thanks for the video Josh!

So in the end, I just wanted to say that by you’re actions you’ve made some of us look like you did by association in some people’s minds and in the media.

And you acted like shitheads.

Support your team. Support your community and your local businesses. Don’t destroy them.

What some stats don’t say about a playoff run

Sometimes I enjoy looking at statistics, like who’s winning the scoring race…. or seeing Jaroslav Halak on top of save % thus far.

I’m writing this not as a statistician or wanting to figure out formulas…. I’m writing this because when I’ve looked at certain stats as a fan, I was always struck with a first impression about the stat.

I thought I’d look at the plus/minus stat a little bit to see how teams these playoffs were shaping up and look at a few years past. Over several games the plus/minus stat can show in a general way how a team performs 5 on 5 and can also give a hint at which players are better offensively/defensively. Obviously it doesn’t give a true look at your best defensive or offensive player, because the stat itself is a bit of a balance between the goals scored while your on the ice for and against your team. So a higher scoring player may end up with a higher plus/minus stat then a better defensive player in some cases.

Basically, it’s a glimpse of how the team is doing 5 on 5 while each player is on the ice.
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A few reasons to believe the Habs can win tonight

The Canadiens face the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Bell Center in Montreal tonight… and might I take this time to welcome Sidney and his crew to the most intense hockey crowd in the world.

Here’s a few reasons why I think the Canadiens deserve a little credit and why they can win.

Besides the fact that shutting down the Capitals offense for 3 consecutive games and taking them in 7 games surely wasn’t any luck or bad luck. This time of year is about “want”, “desire”, “hunger”…. you better believe it.

Don’t count anyone out until they’re out.
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Finding reasons that don’t exist why the Caps lost to the Habs

I found an article and thought it quite interesting. The writer of this article claims that the Caps eventually lost the series because of that goal that was not allowed. In fact, looking at the picture within the very article I’m drawn to Knuble’s skate positioned just in the crease… and if any of you saw the replay last night his skate did in fact go into the crease and obstruct the goaltender’s ability to move.

Knuble is quoted in the article as saying:

“That’s a violation that hasn’t been called all year,”

Well, unfortunately he’s partly right. I’ve seen many goals scored where a team was running the net. I remember one goal in particular where Price was basically pushed into the net while trying to grab the puck…. the puck sliding in with him. I think it may actually have been Ovechkin who had scored that goal. But because it wasn’t called everytime doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right call.

The Canadiens won 3 of 4 games in Washington. And they just as easily could have won game 2 were it not for a meltdown.

Here’s another interesting quote by the author of the article “Brad Watson is the referee who murdered the Caps’ playoff chances”.

With all due respect, I totally disagree. Blaming the referee like that is a cop out.
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Montreal Canadiens pull off what most thought unthinkable

I’m not sure how to express it… but I’ll just say that this game 7 was intense! Very intense.

My wonderful little girl (Emily, aged 6) wanted to watch part of the game with me. So we cuddle up and watched some of the first period together. She asked me some questions about the 2 teams. After a little bit she wanted to lie down and before I knew it, she was asleep.

I’d also like to mention that there was a great live chat tonight and thanks to Steven Hindle (@StevenHindle , Capitals coverage) for inviting me to join in.

I was watching the game intensely. The Capitals seemed to push quite a bit to start the game. And in the second period, I was kind of surprised at how flat they came out. At one point I remember thinking that the Capitals must have thought they were on a penalty kill because the Habs players were skating around their zone at will with the puck.

They soon realized they weren’t on the penalty kill… and pressure on Halak and the team’s defense resumed once again.

I’ve been so impressed with a few players in general.
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Montreal Canadiens show they got the right stuff

After the way the season went with injuries and then the line juggling in the lineup…. the seeming lack of simple coaching moves like taking a time out… I’m almost amazed at how the Canadiens have looked after 6 games against the mighty Washington Capitals.

Coming into this series I had no doubt in my mind that the Capitals could be beaten. I’m not gonna tell you I would have bet on it at the time but I certainly did believe they could be beat.

Washington’s biggest weakness is their defense.

They finished off the season with a 2.77 goals against average which ranked them 16th in the league. While they boast being a powerhouse offensive team you’ll often hear something about winning in the playoffs. Defense.
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