The uproar soon followed. I must admit, I felt that we were in for a long season. And honestly, we may be. Time will tell.

However, I try to be a “glass half full” kinda guy. An optimist.

When it comes to predicting the outcome of a season by looking at a team’s roster at the start of the year maybe you can, in a general way, assess where the team will finish. When it comes to predicting where a team will finish by looking at a team’s first 10-15-20 games…. you can make certain judgements… sometimes you’ll be right.

But sometimes, you’ll still be dead wrong.

In the last few years, we’ve seen predictions by experts that rated a team at the top of the conference…. the team barely makes it in. A team was rated as being out of the playoffs and they finish in the top spots of the conference.

There are so many variables it’s impossible to tell. Maybe your best guy gets hurt. Maybe a mediocre player has a career year and puts up surprising numbers which really helps raise his linemates production and the team in the overall standings. Maybe your GM makes a move that propels the team on a higher level…. or cuts the heart out of the group.

Just look at the Penguins of just a few years back when they won the cup. Going into the home strech, they weren’t even in the 8th spot. They were out of it. Sure, they had Sid, Malkin etc… But they were struggling big time. The last strech of the season, they hit a different gear and seemed to peak in the playoffs.

That’s not a one time occurance either. 8th seeds, 7th seeds, they occasionally go far. If your team really hits it’s stride at the right time of the year, you’ve got a shot.

So how good can these Habs be?

Well, there are positives for sure.

Erik Cole has been looking like the player they brought him here to be. He now has 6 goals and he’s always going to the net. Montreal has needed players like this for years. A bigger frame guy who goes into the other team’s goaltenders face…. and causes problems. Of course, to start the year, Mr Martin didn’t seem to want to play Cole much. Thankfully, that has changed.

Tomas Plekanec is a hell of a hockey player. We Habs fans have known this for quite some time. He has become much like Markov was a few years back. Our secret weapon.

Markov was quitely in the tops of the league in offensive defensemen. One of the very best.

Plekanec is such a good 2 way player. And it’s almost like it’s a secret because you don’t hear much about him. If it’s 5 on 5, penalty kill or power play, Tomas is on the ice and paying dividends. In fact, on the penalty kill he will sometimes generate offensive opportunities and rarely gives up on a play.

Our defense is depleted but some young guys are settling in. Gorges has been hitting his stride. Not that he’ll lead all defensemen in points or anything like that. But he’s a steady defensive precense. Josh is leading the team in +/- at +10. He wasn’t that strong to start the year but it’s coming together.

PK Subban is starting to settle in. Early in the season he gave up the puck alot and took some pretty bad penalties. Weber has looked really good at times, Emelin had a strong game the other night being quite physical.

Carey Price is looking like he’ll be the same goaltender we had last year. One of the best in the league, he will steal some games for sure.

Scott Gomez started looking alot better in the last game…. while many people expressed their desire to can him right away, if this guy can find it, he can be a heck of a puck mover. He and Gionta were looking like their New Jersey days last night.

Andrei Markov. Certainly, his contract is a risky one at best. If Markov can come back and be reasonably healthy this season, you can be assured that the special teams and the offensive game will be affected quick positively. Even with some diminished production due to his injuries, the guy has an incredible vision and hockey sense. Komisarek should be paying him a good chunk of his contract for making him look good for those Montreal years (I had to!).

Point is, it’s a guessing game. A crap shoot. You never know what can happen. There may not be another major injury this season. Or maybe, they will be decimated with injuries. You can only guess. If you’re “the expert”, the “arm chair gm” or whoever, it’s impossible to be completely accurate without an incredible amount of luck on your part.

My hope is that Montreal hits their stride and really click when the playoffs roll around.

I think they’ll make it in!

If you were Pierre Gauthier and looking forward with $$, contract terms and player’s future potential in mind… and let’s say you could only sign one of these 2 guys…

Which guy would you sign?
For how much?
For how long?

Personally I’ve always been a fan of Andrei Markov. Always. He’s been one of the league’s premier offensive defensemen. I believe he’s loved Montreal and has been one of the cornerstones of this franchise.

But looking forward, would you offer him a long term deal for $5 million a year? I usually tend to feel nostalgic when looking at a player I’ve watched favorably for many a season so that is my natural tendency.

But looking at how Wisniewski played both with grit and with his offensive numbers… geez.

You know, I think I’d offer James a comfortable long term deal. He’s entering the prime of his career, has offensive skills, plays with some grit….

As for numbers, I’m not sure what I’d do. I’m thinking I’d offer him a 3-4 year deal. Maybe even up to 5 for a bit of a lower cap number. Given that he’s 27 years old he could very well have many strong years ahead.

What would you do??

Andrei Markov, one of the best defensmen in the NHL and a defenseman who we’ve had for the last 10 years in Montreal, will become a Canadian citizen on Friday July 16th 2010.

I’ve always been a huge Markov fan and he’s almost been a forgotten star in the NHL because he seems to do everything so quietly…. like ranking among the top offensive defensemen in the league.

Andrei, congrats on becoming a Canadian citizen.

@yarfangor on twitter wondered if that meant Markov could now play for Team Canada…..

Tonight…. in just a couple of hours The Montreal Canadiens will play game one against the Washington Capitals.

I suppose one could look at an 8th seed team and automatically write them off as they face such a high powered offense in Washington. Not only Washington’s high powered offense, but the once Habs net minder Jose Theodore who’s been playing VERY well the last few months….. his season started with such tragedy and he’s played some very inspired hockey this year.

I was heartbroken for you Jose…. but I’m glad you’ve had a strong season.

Now going back to the Habs. I don’t really “expect” them to win. The Capitals are clearly the more high powered offense and they also have bigger bodies. I would personally say that both these team’s defense are basically a wash. Neither were among the top in goals against this year.

Montreal finished 13th in goals against and Washington at 16th.

Both teams also boast some very talented offensive defensemen in Andrei Markov and Mike Green.

But I believe there is definitely some hope for the Habs!

There are 2 great young goaltenders who in any given game can steal one for you. Now keep in mind that they’d be stealing one against the most high powered team in the league.

I also think that this team is just now… for the most part generally healthy. Mike Cammalleri is back… This is the time of year you want to click. The Habs have won these Capitals…. Tomas Plekanec performs well against these Caps….

The playoffs are always slightly different. You get to play your opponent at least 4 times in a row. This should give your coach a chance to try some things….. I would be changing it up as needed. Really feel out your opponent.

Now something that I’ve seen the Canadiens do this year and I’m not sure if it’s a true coaching strategy….. is sit on a lead. A 1 goal lead? Try to get through the game from about the second period on to win the game? Not a strategy I’m a fan of. Push for the second goal.

This Capitals team is not the team you want to play against trying to sit on a lead….. they will barbecue you, burn you… and throw you out without eating you.

So please, what I’d love to see is a hard fought game. I wouldn’t say “run and gun”…. there’s just no easy way to win this series if you’re the Canadiens. You’re matched up against a strong team.

But, push offensively as the Caps aren’t the strongest defense….. and play hard…. play hard and try to draw penalties.

The power play COULD become an important asset in this series.

Here’s a great blog article over at Lions in Winter on why the Habs could win this series.

Go Habs Go!

The Canadiens won the game 4-3 in Overtime (which was predicted with little time to play in the 3rd on Twitter by Arpon Basu). It wasn’t the prettiest of games. Montreal were again outshot by a very large margin. Overall team defensive play has to be improved to cut down on the shots that make it to either Jaroslav Halak or Carey Price.

You can’t expect to win very many games in the NHL if your opponent is in your zone firing rubber at your goaltender most of the evening. Although I will say that in the case of the Montreal Canadiens at least Jacques Martin has 2 very capable young goalies to rely upon. But they won’t steal every game.

Jaroslav Halak was, in the end, left to face 53 shots (that made it through to him) stopping 50 of them. Is that not scary? If I was coaching this team that would be one of the most frightening numbers that I would have to face…. never mind they somehow won the game. The last several years the Montreal Canadiens were outshot alot and though this year it seemed that it was getting a bit better early on it’s pretty much back to where it was in terms of these shot totals.

Nik Antropov was around Halak’s net last night and was effective for the Thrashers. He had 2 goals. It’s something the Thrashers did in an earlier game too…. if you can put big bodies in front of the net and throw the puck out there… good things happen.

Hope the Habs adopt that style a bit more at some point…..

One of the bright spots this year has been Tomas Plekanec. Last night he fired a terrific shot to score Montreal’s first goal and then he assisted on the next 3 Habs goals to finish the game with 4 points! Plekanec now has 40 points on the year in 38 games played. That ties Tomas with Zach Parise, Nicklas Backstrom, Brad Richards and Martin St Louis…. tied for 6th in the league in points.

VERY good Tomas!

Marc-André Bergeron scored 2 goals last night. At times Bergeron is a defensive liability. He gets pushed off the puck when he’s on defense and sometimes looks like he struggles to move the puck up to his forwards out of Montreal’s defensive zone.

But put Bergeron on the point on the PowerPlay… or have him join the rush… and he’s been pretty effective. He seems to move the puck much better while entering or while in the offensive zone. And he’s got one heck of a shot.

Bergeron scored the overtime winner last night and it was really a beautiful goal.

Finally… I’m sure mostly everyone has notice Andrei Markov is back in the lineup which is truely one of the best Christmas gifts the Canadiens could have received. Andrei looked rusty in his first game back… for about 2 shifts. Since then he’s looked pretty good. Markov has looked really good moving the puck… Bergeron’s frist goal last night came off the quick puck moving of Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Markov. Just beautiful to watch.

And now… the highlights and stats!

You can also find the game stats here:

Game Summary

Event Summary

Facoffs Report

Full play by play

TOI Thrashers

TOI Canadiens

Roster Report

Shot Report

Hoping that he’ll be back sometime.

And RDS is reporting that Andrei Markov started skating and that there’s a chance that he could be back in the lineup as early as late December.

Imagine if Markov did come back healthy and ready to go by early January… just in time to get in sync for the playoff run….

Gomez, Spacek, D’Agostini and the newly acquired Benoit Pouliot were also skating today.

The game against the Penguins had the Habs down Markov, Gill, Gomez, Spacek, Gionta, D’Agostini and Andrei Kostitsyn…. am I missing a few???

The team played with effort and heart.

Imagine what this team may look like in Januray or February is these guys are back and the team is relatively healthy. I’m optimistic… At the rate of NHL injuries this year though…. there are no guarantees.

As I mentioned yesterday in the post titled “Has the season self-destructed??” I think it’s been pretty hard to clearly evaluate just how good this team is.

There has been some raunchy performances on the one hand. On the other hand there have been some great performances where they’ve been in the game or have won.

Last night against the Washington Capitals were one such game were I wasn’t filled with optimism before hand but afterwards I certainly was.




So in reference to how good the team is so far? I believe they’re right on pace where they should be, in fact maybe they are even a little better then what I would have predicted being 11-11-0 in the first 22 games of the year with all the changes and without their best player (Andrei Markov)…. and other key injuries.

Listening to Montreal’s talk radio, The Team 990 (which I am a regular listener) I’ve really enjoyed what Randy Tieman has been saying… he’s said something to the effect that it’s just to hard to say how good this team is or can be with all the significant injuries.

I still take the position that this team’s core is better then where we finished last season. So many people last year had voiced the opinion that the team needed a major change in direction. Well, the team’s direction was changed brining in a younger core and so far I don’t think they’ve been pushed around quite as much as they used to despite some of these guys being smaller. Moving forward there is something to build on.

I do believe that it would have been much better to get picks or prospects for some of the players who were let go… but it didn’t happen that way and Gainey opted to try and make a playoff run. Much debate could be made over it being the right or wrong decision. Personally I don’t think it would have gone well to trade everyone and give up on the playoff race at the deadline while they were still positioned to be a playoff team.

There are some real positives coming together for the Canadiens.

Carey Price has been playing with that fire. He’s looking as confident as we all hoped that he would be.

There has been some “Price haters” voicing there opinions that he should be traded… that in my opinion is all rubbish. To be honest at his age there are not many goaltenders who boast the numbers that he does. He’s comparable to a young Roy, Brodeur and Luongo. If anyone out there is expecting him to play like a seasoned St-Patrick 2 or three years in… then either you must not know that Patrick himself didn’t play perfectly in goal and had some real stinkers. But as he aged, he became a real game changer.

Price has all of that potential. He can be our game changer and has already started to look like a game changer in the short time we’ve had him in the CH.

Tomas Plekanec is also a guy who last year was named in virtually every trade rumour.. this summer was more of the same. He took alot of heat. I questioned openly what his future with the team was.

Well, Tomas has answered the phone…. he’s been the best player in a Habs uniform night in and night out. He’s playing with more bite.. he’s skating hard, making some great passes and creating many scoring chances. He’s even looked really good on the PK.

Andrei Kostitsyn seems to be improving his play and Max Pacioretty seems to be getting it together also. 2 guys who will certainly be asked to step it up with the recent injury to Brian Gionta. They started slow and maybe that’s just what it is… an adjustment to the new coaching staff and system.

It’s always disappointing to see the team you’re passionate about not win and play some bad games… but this is part of the growing pains of having a vastly new lineup… and the normal regular season pain of having multiple key players out with injury.

I look at this as an opportunity for some guys to be put in the position to step up and see what they’re made of. It’s really not all doom and gloom guys. We’ve got some real nice positives in the mix.

It’s a long season, last year Pittsburgh was out of a playoff position after 50+ games played. If your team can hang around, be healthy and peek at the right time.. it can make for a great finish.

The constant injuries and lack luster play has certainly been tugging away at the optimism I had coming into the season. A quarter of the way through it’s still pretty hard to read exactly who this team is. But although it is hard to discern it’s not really something that can be faulted on management.

I’m not saying that there haven’t been moves (or “non-moves”) made in the last few years that I think were bad in hindsight leading up to today… but what I am saying is that one can’t honestly measure just how good this team is

We’ve been without our best player and other players who were keyed in as integral parts of this team.

When compared to last year’s team and the “core” that the Habs had prior to this season it still speaks loudly to me that this group is 10-11-0 after 21 games… without Markov… and other pieces of the puzzle also out.

There’s a great article on the numbers without Markov over at Lions in Winter… check it out.

There’s been quite a bit of doom and gloom from what I’ve been hearing in regards to the season and the talk about a “rebuild” has begun. Honestly, I think we’ve just begun “the rebuild”.

The face of the team has changed and some 1 year deals were handed out… I think there’s a further evaluation currently underway…. as there probably always is during an NHL season.

And about this quick face lift… I’m not sure if anyone thought that this “was it”.. that the changes were done. I didn’t think that. I thought this season would be a transition year from the start.

A new core moving forward younger on average and further evaluation on who would be kept and who would be traded away. At least that’s what I assumed.

Right out of the gate, it’s been hard to see who this team is. They’ve played without their best player… without whom they have played terribly in previous seasons.. yet they are now just below .500.

Were some games totally lack luster performances??

Yes!

But I’m not all doomsday yet about this season. If this core could get into the playoffs without key players and have them in the playoffs… then who knows.

However, where I honestly do start to think in almost doomsday terms for this season is with the recent injury of Brian Gionta who is tied as the top scorer on the team with 8 goals.

The way the supporting cast has been playing on the team, Latendress, Lapierre, Andrei Kostitsyn, Pacioretty…. I’m just not sure. I’d like to think that they’ll somehow find a way to step up. If it was all just some kind of 20 game slump for these guys then we’d still be in decent shape but without some solid secondary scoring coming VERY soon… (like tonight!!!!) then I’m not sure we’ll hang in there.

Tonight Ryan O’Byrne comes back into the mix which may help the defense a bit. He’s not the savior but if he manages to provide some grit in front of our net it will be an improvement.

By trade deadline if we’re not in the playoff race then the obvious question will arise as to which player has trade value and what deals can be made. Although many are suggesting these scenarios now, 21 games in the season.

This kind of brings up another subject… what is expected of the organization? What is considered a success?

I would like the Habs to win the cup. Honestly.

But I don’t expect them to.

What is a successful franchise in terms of results? Maybe I’ll jot some of my thoughts down and write about it.

In 3 years, all the ducks fell in a row… the team finished 1st in the east and were ousted of the playoffs… they start the following season strong… injuries dominate.. barely make the playoffs.. lots of drama… mass disappointment.

This year most people would have said big changes needed to be made… big changes were made… key injuries to the Habs again (as many other teams in the NHL)… and disappointment has turned into “let’s blow it up”.

I’m not convinced that it’s time to talk about blowing up the team. I believe it’s time to look at who to drop and who we can add (and how we can add them).

That’s my $0.02 for now.

Price/Halak – The Stats – October 2009
by Chris Boyle for Eyes on the Prize

This is a great article on the goaltender statistics and it cuts through to the bare facts.

Chris does a great analysis of the shots both Halak and Price have faced will visual graphs displaying where the shots were taken from as well as the save percentage per area.

Really worth the read!

Hockey Night in Canada Takes Interest in All Habs’ Feud
by Rocket for All Habs
AND
UPDATES: Walsh controversy
by  Rocket for All Habs

The night that I wasn’t on Twitter at all (you can find me on twitter at @yves_on_habs) there was a bit of controversy as Halak’s agent Mr Allan Walsh tweeted a comment about Carey Price’s stats. If you want the whole story please read the articles on the All Habs blog!

Well written and described.

Learning to live without Markov
by Topham for Lions in Winter

This article contains some numbers showing just what the team’s play has been like when Markov has been out. Some interesting numbers in this article and if you thought Markov was an important player the team’s most important player this article might provide proof of his value through the last few seasons.

Andrei, I miss you!

The Canadiens have had 2 big injuries and 1 minor injury in their first 2 games and thankfully last night everyone made it out ok!

Here’s a few thoughts on some ups and some downs so far (in no real particular order).

Ups : Carey Price

All through the summer with all the speculation and chatter about the upcoming season and the questions around all the new players there was another subject kind of floating around.

How would Carey Price play this year?

Now granted, we’re 3 games into the season. There are 79 games left to be played but in his first 2 games Price looked very sharp. He faced a ton of shots in both his games and at the start of the first game, I remember hearing a commentator saying he looked nervous… soon after the rubber was bouncing off of him and he looked composed.

At times his rebound control looked very good.

Downs : Injuries!

So in 2 games the best player on the Team Andrei Markov gets hurt and is out for months… followed by Ryan O’Byrne’s injury.

In a previous article I wrote about Markov I mentioned his offensive production last season… ranking 1st in the league in assists among defensemen and 2nd in overall points among defensive.

Markov is the team’s quarter back and he simply can’t be replaced.

I feel bad for O’Byrne, not that I don’t also feel bad for Markov having been hurt with a major injury, but O’Byrne really seemed to be playing with confidence. Ryan was looking good. Big guy at 6’6 who can skate well for someone his size, long reach and playing physical.

I thought Ryan was poised to have a strong year.

Ups: Georges Laraque, Travis Moen

Many people were calling for Laraque’s head over the summer and going back months into last season.

I thought that if Georges could be healthy he could definitely help the team not just with dropping the gloves every now and then either.

Back when Laraque played in Edmonton I remember watching Oilers games and there were a few things that stuck in my mind about Georges. Yes, one of those things were that if he dropped the gloves he was quite able. But another thing that stuck in my mind was that he could be strong along the boards.

So far, Jacques Martin has played Laraque a fair bit and used him in a couple of different combinations and his play along the boards has been strong. In all 3 games he was able to control the puck along the boards and open up the ice a bit.

Travis Moen is probably one of my favorite players in the lineup. I thought he had a very quiet training camp but since the first game he’s picked it up.

Moen will drop the gloves, he checks well, seems to be well positioned, he will go to the net, block the shots and when he’s banging around the net he seems to have pretty good hands. I remember Tom K could have had about 35 “garbage goals” last year but could rarely capitalize on the chances (Tom…. I love you man)… I suspect Moen will get more of these opportunities then Tom did.

Ups: Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Mike Cammalleri

I’ve been very impressed with the way Gionta has been playing. He seems to find a way to get into openings where he can put a shot on goal. And of course, sorry to use this term again… but he plays big!

Generally, I’ve really liked what I’ve seen from all 3 of these guys. The only thing that I’ve found lacking is that their play hasn’t been consistent. But, to be honest, we’re 3 games in. In last night’s game they were very good in my opinion.

They’ve displayed nice skating, passing and the ability to get shots off.

Downs: The team’s tighter defensive system

Heard lot’s about Martin’s system and how protecting the goaltender was going to be a priority.

The team looked disorganized at times… but see, we’re still just 3 games in. And of course, take away Markov and O’Byrne… you get the picture.

We’re just a few games into the season and really these are just some of my observations in these 3 games. In 10 games the team’s defense and offense could be quite different. There could be greater chemistry and a flow in both the offensive and defensive game… or more of the same.

Who knows??

The only way to find out how it will turn out is to keep watchin’…. and if you’re anything like me you certainly will be watching!