Anyway, here’s Cammalleri on the loss to the Leafs. (courtesy of Habs Inside/Out)

It was a spirited game last night and at times the Habs did play with great intensity. I gotta say that I thought Reimer played well, he made some crucial stops for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal just couldn’t capitalize.

This morning, the Canadiens sit in 6th place and are 9 points ahead of the 9th place Sabres, but with 20 games left to play there are alot of points up for grabs. And this time of year, every game becomes crucial unless you’re sitting in 1st in your conference like Philly is. At 86 points, they’re quite comfortable.

But the 71 point Habs??? Every game is crucial!

I have to start by saying that I actually missed the first period… I know, I know… how could I do such a thing.

Actually, it was my daughter’s Christmas concert.

Despite the 3 game slide that saw Montreal loose against the Red Wings, Leafs and Flyers I was pretty positive going into last night. A Bruins vs Habs matchup is always a worth while affair and a match up that I will certainly never tire from.

A couple of things that I’ll note.

Max Pacioretty. I fully realize that we’ve just seen 2 games from him this year in Montreal but I’m really liking what I’m seeing.

Past seasons, Max had alot of expectation on his shoulders and it seemed as though in so many games he kind of looked as though he just wasn’t quite there. He seemed to get bumped off the puck often and almost seemed as though he was a boy among men at times.

After ripping up the AHL, he looks confident. He’s skating very well, since I can’t say I’ve seen both complete games I can say from what I’ve seen, he’s really improved on his passing and also seems to finish his checks much better. The confidence seems to be there and it’s looking as though he could be a good complement to Gionta and Gomez.

Mike Cammalleri… always love watching him play…. that shot that he has is nothing but a laser. But dropping the gloves? I have to admit when he first dropped them…. I was thinking “Oh no”. My first reaction was to think “Please God… don’t let him hurt hist wrists. But it all turned out ok.

Then there was Mike Milbury’s wonderful comments about the Habs being a bunch of cockroaches. I almost laughed. Almost. Now I certainly do realize that in sports commentary it’s also about entertainment but please. Milbury seems to show the same disrespect in his comments as his accusations of the Habs play. Nice try Mike. Just remember Mike, you were no angel.

I was a little surprised at the Boston Herald’s article today as well. I guess they don’t like the Canadiens there.

So the “despicable and dirty little hockey team that loves to dish out nasty cheap shots, often from behind, often after the whistle” team from Montreal (that was a quote from the Boston Herald article) will move on to face the Avalanche on Sunday night.

Cheers.

In fact, I think I’ll be wearing some Habs gear in a photo shoot for my new job.

Anyway…. here’s a short clip of Scott Gomez and Mike Cammalleri on Price. (Courtesy of Sportsnet)

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!

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!

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.