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.

1 – Jaroslav Halak

I don’t really need to say much here. He’s been great in these playoffs and maybe that in itself is an understatement.

One question that I’ve heard some people say is “how long can he keep it up?“… that question came up a couple of games into the Washington series and to some extent hasn’t went away. It’s not really a fluke that he’s playing well. At least I don’t think it is. For us Habs fans who watch every (or just about) game then you’ve seen this guy play some great goaltending prior to the playoffs.

He’s had nothing handed to him since coming to North America and has earned every bit of his ice time. I’d say he’s a pretty confident guy in what he does… he’s won my confidence…. I’d also suggest his teammates are quite confident in him too…

2. Hal Gill and Josh Gorges

Hal Gill and Josh Gorges have been superb during these playoffs. For a team that was generally really bad at 5 on 5 hockey during the season, all of a sudden the team is playing some pretty good defense.

Yes, there are alot of shots on goal. But many of them are taken from the outside and the Gorges – Gill pairing have done a fabulous job on the penalty kills. When it comes to the playoffs I’m not sure there’s any luck involved. There’s a strategy, a game plan… guys have their jobs…. and try to do it.

Gill and Gorges do many simple things well. They also show some patience instead of panic. Nice simple plays off the boards to clear a puck…. bumping a guy off the puck (you don’t have to decapitate people)…. sticks and bodies clogging passing and shooting lanes.

3. The big guys

While I’m sure many “experts” in the hockey world from parents to coaches to (fill in the blank) may have thought or even told these guys that they’re too small to succeed as pro hockey players they’ve always defied the odds. Luckily they’ve never believed that they’re too small…. which is something that many “experts” were saying when these guys were signed. I think some people questioned these guys because they wouldn’t be effective in the playoffs.

Well. Sorry.

Ever see Brian Gionta go in the corners? Against guys 7 inches (and more) taller then him? Yeah, he gets banged around. But he comes out with the puck his fair share of the time. And won’t back down. The crazy bugger even goes in front of the net and scores goals!! Imagine!!

And so does Mike Cammalleri!!

Seriously, Gionta’s got great hands, a great shot… and Mike Cammalleri is an artist with the puck. Yeah I know, we had another guy here a little while ago that they called the artist and in all fairness I enjoyed his time with the Habs. But Cammalleri’s got heart. He WANTS to win. You can tell.

That “want” to win and work ethic coupled with a magnificent shot…. makes Cammalleri a player you want to have playing on your team.

Maybe these 2 guys should be given a little more credit by the “experts”. Although in fairness to the experts, they often do acknowledge their skill and hockey IQ.

4. PK Subban

He’s thrown in the fire and looks like he belongs. He skates, handles the puck, shoots, hits….. and gets “mini Bobby Orr” comparisons already.

Youthful enthusiasm and energy coupled with skill can certainly help energize a team.

On several occasions PK has made the right pass or made a little stutter step to back off a defender. Subban is showing that he’s got a ton of hockey smarts to go along with all that raw skill.

All those simple plays (like the stutter step) show patience, poise and give the Habs offensive chances as well as defensive stops. The last thing you want is your guys to panic out there… that’s where you have turn overs. Subban looks at home in the firestorm.

Welcome PK. The crowd is already chanting your name buddy!

5. A few sayings that you hear this time of year

– Good teams find a way to win
– Defense wins championships
– Don’t underestimate the heart of a champion
(We’ve got a crew of guys who’ve won or come very close before)

Habs have a shot at winning tonight! Better believe it!

Go Habs Go!

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.

The New Jersey Devils would choke their opponents not so long ago… the Detroit Red Wings were also masters at controlling the puck.

The Canadiens were not a good defensive team this season. They were right at the bottom at 5 on 5 hockey. They did however spend a huge chunk of the season without key players. Markov, Gionta, Cammalleri, Gill…

The team struggled along and made the playoffs. In these playoffs they pretty much have their lineup as it was projected at the start of the year…. with a few minor tweeks here and there of course. So they’ve finally got their skilled puck moving players running on all gears… they’ve got their defensive players running on all gears. They’ve got a goaltender who’s gained a heck of alot of confidence.

What could this team have accomplished had there been a fraction of the injuries?

The team is playing some defense around the net. It was very frustrating watching teams falling all over Price and Halak this season. Now in these playoffs you’ve had O’Byrne logging some ice along side Markov…. a big physical d-man who is clearing more room in front of Jaro… and one of the greatest puck moving defensemen in the game today in Andrei Markov to move the puck out.

You’ve also got Stanley Cup champion Hal Gill who played a huge role in the Penguins Cup run… as a shut down guy. Hal Gill has been great. He’s used his long reach perfectly, his body is somehow always in the opponent’s way or he chokes up passing and shooting lanes with that long reach.

Josh Gorges, who’s been Gill’s partner in crime, seems to be playing some of the best hockey in his young career as well. What I’ve really enjoyed is how both Gorges and Gill have shown patience, trust in one another and they’ve made simple plays to move the puck out of the zone when needed. You don’t need to do anything fancy to win hockey games. Something I’ve also noticed is that although Gill doesn’t throw huge punishing hits, he uses his big body well enough that he can bump someone off the puck without having to throw the big hit.

You don’t have to kill someone against the boards to get the puck away from them. As long as your team gains possession, that’s all that matters.

So we’re gonna witness a game 7 in a series where most people had written the Habs off early.

Well done guys!

Go Habs Go!

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.

Watching the Canadiens vs the Rangers last night was a treat. It went through all the emotions…. from elation and excitement to uncertainty and slight fear (well ok… maybe no fear… right?). But when the chips were down the Habs managed to come back from 2 goals down (twice they were down by 2 goals) and eventually win the game.

I saw what I began to see ever since these hit the ice in training camp. A play hard attitude, never back down, desire to win…..

But from what I’ve heard from some tv analysts and some writers, you’d swear that this “experiment” of Bob Gainey’s would surely flop. The theme of of some game highlights and video replays have referred to some of them as “the smurf line”…. their physical stature is often referred to…. Even before CBC broke to commercial just before the game was about to start there was a mention of how many inches the Gomez-Cammalleri-Gionta line gave up to their opponents.

I’m not sure I can take it seriously anymore. And what I mean is that if someone asks Gomez (again) how he or they (their line) will deal with being smaller then their opponents I’m going into “don’t take interview seriously mode”….

I’ve missed one game since the beginning of training camp and I’ve noticed some consistencies here.

Brian Gionta and Mike Cammalleri don’t care (I’ll assume they don’t) if you think they’re small. They don’t care if you think that being a foot shorter then Hal Gill will make it harder for them to be effective and succeed in the NHL.

While you’re worrying about those things Brian Gionta and Mike Cammalleri are playing some great hockey.

Brian’s averaging 3.5 shots per game through 10 games, he’s got 4 goals 2 assists and is +4.

Mike’s averaging 4 shots per game through 10 games, he’s got 5 goals and 6 assists and is +3. And imagine… Mike must have forgotten the golden rule that he wouldn’t produce without Jerome Iginla as some of you suggested.

And while you’ve been worrying about their size, both Mike and Brian have not shied away from going into the corners after loose pucks…. and usually come out with it outplaying their adversaries about 50% of the time (just an estimate friends). Heck… they’ve even skated back on defense and pick pocketed their opponents.

They have both won over many fans in Montreal with their work ethic.

Of course, while you were worrying about how small they are, they’ve had pretty fine careers up to now. Let’s hope they don’t listen to you worry. It would probably be a waste of their time as they’re currently playing in the NHL…. and the majority of us (and you who worry about their size) do not.

I had my doubts when I first heard about the signings this summer, I’ve said it before, but I hadn’t really watched them play much. Now that I have I understand.

Maybe we should all watch what they do on the ice instead of worrying about inches and feet.

Waddaya say?

Coming into tonight I’ve seen positives and negatives in the previous 5 games. The Avalanche should provide a very formidable opponent. They’ve got some great young talent and their taking off.

Here’s what I’ll be looking for tonight:

Gomez and Gionta
From the line combinations that we saw in the last couple of days it appears that these 2 guys will be paired up together. Trying to get them going together is nothing but a good idea in my opinion. Gionta always seems to find a way to get open for a shot and Gomez can really pass the puck. Should be a good combination.

Travis Moen
I could have added Moen with Gomez and Gionta… as he will likely play on the top line tonight but I didn’t… (hey, it’s my blog!) I thought Moen was rather invisible in the pre-season and so far in the first 5 games I saw the type of player we’ve been lacking in Montreal for some time. Moen will surely be trying to create some space for Scott and Brian as well as going to the net where he could pick up a couple of goals off of Brian Gionta rebounds. And throwing some good hard hits….

I love Moen’s play so far… can be hard nosed, go to the net.. crash the net… throw the hit.. drop the gloves…. Keep it up!

Cammalleri+Plekanec+A.Kostitsyn
Maybe having Cammalleri teamed up with Plekanec will bear fruit tonight…. both of those guys have been working really hard through the first 5 games. Both of them have been putting up decent shots on goal… and I think it’s just a matter of time before we see them net a few together. Andrei Kostitsyn…. I really hope he can find some kind of a groove with both Mike and Tomas… AK is loaded with talent and possesses a killer shot. Hope this line clicks tonight. The Bell Center would explode if this line shines.

Carey Price
I’m looking for a strong show from Price tonight, home opener, new mask… new beginning really. BUT… Let’s hope the defense looks stronger in front of Carey this evening as a few games seemed to show a slightly confused defensive system…. but we’re only the 6th game of the season.

Shawn Belle
Although I don’t think Belle will score a hat trick or anything miraculous… I believe Belle will provide a different kind of spark then Weber had.

Where Weber almost looked a bit timid at times, like seeing him avoid a hit and loose the puck in the corner…. Belle will play a much more solid defensive game. He should be able to clear a bit of room in front of Carey and I’m looking for him to want to impress with some solid checks, physical play (in general) and also some simple passes out of his own zone.

I was also kind of impressed with an interview by Belle…. you can find the interview here on the HABSInside/Out website.

Kyle Chipchura
Kyle doesn’t have to do a whole lot except play hard and make some nice simple plays while playing physically. And there’s also one other aspect where he has been playing well…. Chipchura’s been doing well on the faceoff. So let’s hope that trend continues.

Those are some of the things I’ll be watchin’ for tonight.

I’m also hoping that the “boo birds” stay home.

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!

The Habs were at times a bit flat (I thought) although I’m sure they weren’t hustling…. it just seemed it wasn’t clicking all the time through the first 2 periods.

In the 3rd period though, the top lines started putting it together.

Gomez, Gionta and Cammalleri looked really good in that 3rd period.

They showed some really nice passing last night…. and there’s another element that goes along with passing to get scoring chances…. positioning. A guy with good offensive hockey sense will always find the openings so that he can get the shot off.

Gionta has shown that he is great at finding the openings in the offensive zone. He scored 2 goals had 1 assist and finished the game at +3 last night… will taking 7 shots.

Gomez had 1 goal on 3 shots and a +3.

Cammalleri had 1 assist and a +1.

Andrei Markov had 2 assists, took 2 shots on goal and finished the game at +4.

Spacek had 1 assist, took 2 shots on goal and finished the game at +3.

Games 3 stars?

1 – Brian Gionta
2- Scott Gomez
3- Mike Cammalleri

Carey Price also looked pretty sharp. It looked like he didn’t see much of the puck on that first Penguins goal due to traffic in front of him and he made some pretty nice saves last night.

Also noticed that on many shots last night Carey was controlling the rebounds quite well.

Lot’s of positives in last night’s game.

One thing that surprised me, Neilson seemed a bit quiet.. as was Stewart.

Here’s the video highlights from Sportsnet:

Some players were certainly making the best of their pre-season games….

A couple of these guys are both similar and quite different.

Brian Gionta is having a great pre-season. Last night he continued to play hard… making offensive plays and getting back to play defense. I’m thinking that Jacques Martin must love having a guy like Brian in his lineup.

Not only that, but even though he’s 5’7 he continues to venture in front the opposing team’s net…. last night he was involved in a couple of “scrums” and received a face wash or 2. The last pileup in front of the Bruins net had him lying on his back while stacks of Bruins players lie on him.

He’s a great character player and that kind of attitude might spread to certain others in the lineup.

Another guy that I’m very impressed with is David Desharnais. Desharnais is very similar to Gionta in that he’s a small player that possesses great hockey skills.

Last night I saw Desharnais go in the corner to battle for pucks (and win some battles), make passes, come back on defense to take the puck away from a couple of Bruins players….. just great to see.

You can tell (or at least, I believe) that he “wants it”… David is playing like he’s hungry to make this team. I’m sure he’s faced all the adversity that a guy like Gionta has (or Martin St Louis).. “you’re too small”…etc.

I’ll share with you an opinion. I believe a player can be too small to play in the NHL… but only if he plays small (or soft). Some guys at 6’2 play too soft.

One thing about Gionta, Desharnais, Cammalleri and Martin St. Louis is that they are small… but they don’t play that way. They play hard.

I think that’s the difference.

And finally, last nights highlights