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)

Lot’s of talk already just days after the Canadiens playoff run ended.

I know that for some of you the interest in your favorite NHL team doesn’t end. For me, it certainly does not.

While the Habs were on their playoff run I tried to focus on their games. Current line ups, their performance etc…. while trying to leave the impending UFAs, RFAs, salary cap and that question that will keep lingering of which goaltender stays in Montreal??? Or IF they can somehow keep both.

Now that it’s the off-season (ok, not for you Hawks/Flyers fans) I’m starting to think about this stuff a little bit and am reading what other bloggers have to say as well as the media.

Certainly some interesting articles out there. Here are just a few.

NHL 2010 UFA Desert: Habs’ Plekanec Best Center Out There?
by Scott Weldon for Bleacher Report

Decision time for Habs’ GM Gauthier
by Pat Hickey for The Gazette

Price or Halak Could Solve Yzerman’s Problem in Net
by Alan Adams for NHL Fanhouse

There’s lot’s and lot’s to think about, dream about…. maybe even worry about. But hey, I’ll tell you straight up. I won’t worry about it. I’m a die hard fan, but I try to keep this at the “entertainment level”. NHL teams don’t pay my salary. It’s not a job. I love hockey, I love the Habs, I love NHL hockey….. it’s something fun.

However, I will admit that I’m passionate about the Habs.

So just as the playoff run has just ended.. my head is filling with this other stuff….

I came across a blog post that really got me thinking. I’d like to make it a game within a game really.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to watch the game in it’s entirety this evening. As some of you out there know, I’m a musician and recently started playing a bit more… so it seems as though I’m playing this evening.

Luckily, in the venue where I will be…. I will have a wide screen TV to my right…. and my head shall be turned towards it while I play. Unless perhaps they FAIL to show the Habs game. In which case I’ll play with my eyes shut… (haha).

This blog article over on Berkshire on the Habs. Andrew highlights Rule 69 – Interference on the Goalkeeper in detail…. Now the game within the hockey game I would like to play would be to watch around Price’s net how many times he’s bumped tonight without a call while using Rule 69 as reference.

I notice that on Monday night as soon as Price was in goal that Knuble and friends were tighter in his face then they had been with Halak.

So… this is a simple game… How many times to your estimation does goalie interference occur without a call??

I won’t be able to play this game tonight… but if any of you do… please report back just for the fun of it!!

One recurring theme this season is the constant back and forth from many fans about who they’ve thought can and will prevail in goal for the Montreal Canadiens. While everyone probably has a favorite sometimes this “debate” has gotten ugly.

But the point of this little blog article isn’t really to go there. Instead, I want to once again state something that to me seems quite obvious.

This team won’t get far without playing stronger team defense. Name your goaltender…. even pick names like Roy, Brodeur or Tretiak….

The point is that time and time again this season I’ve seen some “same old” situations. Say like the other night…. on Monday night.

Montreal VS Washington. Game 3. The Habs are pushing hard…. then what happens?? Spacek ends up diving on a play… sliding into Halak… pushing him into his net… the puck goes in. Can’t really fault Halak on that one?

This theme has played itself out all year. You can’t fault either goaltender for alot of those kinds of plays all season long…. and as for a goalie’s confidence… well, if you were in goal and hung out to dry often by your team’s defensive play… you’d probably shrug your shoulders too. I mean, what the hell can you do about it being in goal. You can’t really make defensive hockey plays for your guys and you obviously can’t score any goals to help even up the score. (I’ll get back to team defense in a minute)

Now… game 3… fast forward to Halak getting pulled… and Price comes in.

This very scenario plays out again for the 4th goal of the game. What happens?

MA Bergeron (I believe, correct me if I’m wrong) attemps to clear the puck out of the Habs defensive zone…. it’s picked off… Caps have a couple of guys in close…. Price is left to clean up the mess.

And yet, some people will want to blame him for that goal. What’s up people?

Team defense…. if you speak with alot of coachs…. will be credited for winning games. Maybe even the Stanley Cup.

Now, back to the Canadiens team defense. Something that I have to say is that at times in this series I’ve been impressed. Why have I been impressed? Let’s put it in context.

Washington is the best offensive team in the league. There is not another team that can score goals like they can. Yet, the Habs defensive play at times have managed to shut them down. It can be said that maybe the Caps were just playing bad. But I don’t buy that. It’s happened for several long stretches that the Habs have dominated play. They obviously had a game plan and at times executed that plan to a T.

Gainey was heavily criticized for signing a couple of these guys too…. Spacek and Gill. They’ve played great hockey. Not perfect. But they’ve managed to put their sticks and/or bodies in the way of the likes of Ovechkin and co. Which is no small task.

Seems to me that this really is Hal Gill’s time of year. As I watched game 3, I was really impressed with many small things that he was doing with that long reach of his… and sometimes even though he didn’t crush his opponent with bone breaking hits… he would simply bump them out of position…. which is essentially a sound defensive hockey play. Gill has also taken up alot of real estate in front of his goaltender blocking many shots. Credit him for his strong play in these playoffs. I can see how valuable he was in Pittsburgh for their cup run.

I believe Washington has a game plan against both these guys. Something to watch for when Price is in goal. The Caps forwards will be crashing the crease more. You’ll see bodies falling on him more then you’ll see them falling on Halak. Jacques Martin and co need to find an effective way to clear these guys out.

In my mind there really is no goaltending debate at all. Both of these young guys have shown over the last couple of years that they have the ability to steal a game or 2 or 3. But experience also shows that they cannot be counted upon for a series win or playoff birth. Even back in 1993 when Roy was in the pipes…. the Habs had some other players making waves in that playoff run.

I thought that it would stop. I really did.

In Montreal, with the Canadiens, we really have had a luxury. The last couple of years we’ve seen 2 (count em! 2!) budding young goaltenders who have both shown flashes of brilliance in their careers.

But it almost seems like there are some fans who support one and not the other. This I cannot comprehend.

I’ve noticed it alot less on Twitter. Alot less. Especially lately.

And it’s cool to have your favorite. It’s normal to have a player or more that you find entertaining…. and cheer for.

But personally, I don’t understand why everytime the Montreal Canadiens announce their starting goaltender on Facebook you’ll see about 200-300 negative comments. Saying a guy sucks or the team’s management or coaching sucks or “we’re gonna loose”… or whatever… this to me goes beyond voicing your preference for one of the goaltenders.

I’m a Habs fan. Have always been. Will always be. I don’t jump bandwagons.

While certain players have really frustrated me on the ice or if some coaching/management decisions have left me wondering,  I still don’t find it necessary to talk against the team. I just don’t. And you never know just who will read your comment… that is saved in some database on a server in a building somewhere out there…. possibly to be found and read.

Check out Patrick Roy’s first 3 full seasons in the NHL and compare them to BOTH Halak and Price. Now, some of you might want to argue, different times… different teams… sure. They were. So were the years that Roy was stealing games left, right and center.

The point is. Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price and 2 very good assets for an NHL team to have. There is no question.

Stop the hate.

Alot is being said about the goaltenders in Montreal in the media. Will one get traded? When? For who/what? Which one?….etc.

This morning I read this great article on The Hockey News site titled “Top Shelf: Re-packaging the 1-2 goalie punch“.

The author (Ryan Dixon) mentions that there is another team doing a very similar thing that is going on with the Habs as of late. That is, each goaltender has played a substantial number of games.

You see, the Nashville Predators have been playing both Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis a fair bit. Rinne has played 28 games and Ellis 20. Their stats are also quite similar:

Nashville Predators
Pekka Rinne – 28 games – 2.74 GAA – .906 S%
Dan Ellis –  20 games – 2.75 GAA – .910 S%

It’s quite similar to what’s going on in Montreal between Price and Halak statistically:

Montreal Canadiens
Carey Price – 29 games – 2.67 GAA – .915 S%
Jaroslav Halak – 18 games – 2.64 GAA – .922 S%

Just like the article mentions, if we go back to the days of Patrick Roy he played with Brian Hayward alot. In fact in Roy’s first 4 full seasons in Montreal (85-86 to 88-89) he never played more then 48 games.

Alot has changed since those days of course. I’m not sure if all the money might have influenced more of the battle to be a “number 1″ on a team. I mean, I know athletes are competitive but when you lay the chips down hockey is a team sport and if I put my “fan-gm” hat on for a minute…. it’s much better for a team and for an organization to have 2 strong goaltenders instead of having a “number 1″ and a “backup”.

Food for thought this morning.

Here are the game highlights from the Montreal Canadiens vs the Atlanta Thrashers played on December 21th 2009…. but first some comments.

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

Here are the game highlights from the Montreal Canadiens vs the New Jersey Devils played on December 17th 2009.

I missed the first period of play as I was at my daughter’s Christmas concert. (She did very well!)

Something the Canadiens have to improve on is the penalties they take. Again last night they took bad penalties which always puts them behind the 8 ball. While their penalty kill has been good this year (currently 8th in the league) it’s certainly not a reason to play shorthanded. Even when your only goal comes short handed (Travis Moen scored Montreal’s goal shorthanded).

Last night wasn’t the most exciting hockey in the world…. lot’s of shut down style defense. In the end though the one thing that sticks in my mind is New Jersey’s first goal. A long shot that was going way over the net…. Price puts his glove up…. the puck hits his glove, goes directly on the right side post…. bounces up to his feet…. where the puck then hits Carey’s skate as he skates back…. and the puck goes into the net.

Bad.

Here are the game highlights:

But I suppose that even though Price did let in a stinker… every goaltender will occasionally let one in. Even the great Patrick Roy let in the occasional stinker.

You can also find the game stats here:

Game Summary

Event Summary

Facoffs Report

Full play by play

TOI Devils

TOI Canadiens

Roster Report

Shot Report

Carey Price has been playing some fantastic hockey as of late. After a little bit of a slower start some fans were sounding the panic alarm about Price and some of us were thinking that maybe the fact that Martin seemed to be rolling with a “win and your in” game plan might create some hunger with the goaltenders… a healthy competition.

One thing is for sure, Price is looking like he’s got that confidence back.

The NHL has certainly noticed by naming him 2nd star.

Congrats Carey!

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.