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About last night ...
posted by Mike Boone at 8h28 EST on Apr 2
Here's the stat that says it all:
After games in which three
players – Koivu, Bouillon and Mark Streit – were injured blocking
shots, Canadiens threw their bodies at 24 last night – 10 more than the Senators.
Fifteen players had at least one blocked shot; Ryan O'Byrne had five.
And Carey Price stopped 32. I am grateful to Habs I/O posters Kjdavid and usversusthem for these Price stats:
Since his recall from Hamilton, the rookie goalie is 13-5 with a 2.30 goal-against average and a save percentage of .928. And since Cristobal Huet was traded, Price is 10-3-0 with a GAA of 2.29 and a .933 save percentage.
Project Price's numbers over a full season. Man, centennial year is going to be fun in Montreal.
And BTW, with two games left, Price has 22 wins. In his 1985-'86 rookie season, Patrick Roy had 23.
Some observations:
• Coming off a minus-4 game in Toronto, my man Josh Gorges played 23:26. The Senators ran at him all night, and Gorges bounced off the boards, made great plays and laid on three hits of his own.
• Andrei Markov played a brilliant game and had the first fight of his career. Nice take-down on that weasel Spezza.
• Roman Hamrlik shook off a leg injury and played his usual calm, steady game. Mark Streit, playing hurt, had a judicious 13:33 of ToI, 3:43 of which was on the power play. O'Byrne played 16:49. And save a few kind words for the Breezer.
• Brian Smolinski played 15:49 of superb hockey, including a team-leading five minutes on the PK. Smo won 12 of 17 faceoffs. Maligned for much of the season, the veteran is elevating his game at just the right time.
• Steve Bégin had only one hit, but how about those two blocked shots on the PK? Along with Smolinski and Tom the Bomb, Bégin proved how smart Carbo is in deploying his fourth lines for double-digit minutes this season.
• One for the highlight reel: Guillaume Latendresse outracing Mike Commodore.
• What can you say about Kovy? First 35 goal scorer since Vincent Damphousse got 38 12 years ago. A leader, a warrior, an inspiration to the young Russian guys.
• Speaking of whom, how about Sergei K. getting into it with Chris Neil? Canadiens' refusal to be intimidated last night augurs well for the postseason.
• Frère Andrei fires a laser for his 26th. Already I'm worrying about the RFA offer some GM is going to make for this emerging star.
• Quiet night on the scoresheet – two shots, no goals or assists – but I thought Christopher Higgins played a great game. Digging in the corners, always on the puck, feet moving continuously – all the little things you have to do to win.
• Remember when the PK was a Canadiens' weakness? This just in: Achilles has left the building.
It's a sunny day in Montreal, and the forecast calls for more of the same right into the weekend.
Two more home games, with a shot at winning the Eastern Conference. Canadiens can finish no worse than second overall.
And arrogant, bullying, totally dysfunctional Ottawa – the team some, in October, were comparing to the 1975-'76 Canadiens – may finish ninth.
Sweet.
Chris Aung-Thwin lives the highs and lows with the Habs everyday, and now he writes about his favourite team from a fan's point of view
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"Nice take-down on that weasel Spezza."
Hahahahaha
I briefly met Markov at that Perry Ellis puck-signing a couple of weeks back, and me may not fight much, but he's a big, ugly guy who looks like a Bond villain. I like his chances over Spezza any day of the week.
www.flickeringpictures.com - not a hockey site, but still kinda neat
Well, it is obvious that Mike has two feet firmly planted on the bandwagon this time. The bandwagon is riding very low right now.
I congratulate Boone on his first post praising every single player, and you know what? Efery player definitely deserves to be praised after last night. Heck, Did you see Timo!!!
"Are the Habs ready to pay the Price?"
Oh forgot to mention, anyone see the frozen moment on NHL.com from the Buffalo game?? its awesome...you could literally see the heartbreak on the Buffalo fans...
http://fans.nhl.com/groups/Frozen_Moments_Archive/snapshots/57871
"If I wanted to hear from an ass, I would fart..."
Carey Price: 1st star of the night on NHL.com
"If I wanted to hear from an ass, I would fart..."
Great pic - gotta love "The Comeback"
The two RDS boys almost jumped out of their booth when Dandy scored as the line was composed of three Quebecois players , a little insecure , and their fan base was surely made aware of the fact and the line did play well and Dandy is a gamer. IMO where the player comes from is of no relevance and the bottom line is to go as far as we can to acheive our goal and written by a true square head.
... and before i forget, i think Brisebois deserves some recognition for being a class act this season. He has come in and accepted his role as a depth defenseman (despite playing 20 + mins a game last time he was in MTL). When he has been called on to play, he has played solid, error free hockey. When he was relegated to the press box for weeks at a time, he didn't utter one complaint. He's been an excellent addition to the club, and a steadying influence on the teams young french canadians. All that, and he's only making $700 000.
Just another reason why Bob is an excellent GM.
Thank you for posting this. Despite the amount of flak he's taken this entire season by the fanbois who jump on the "Hate Breezer Bandwagon" PAtrice has been nothing short of a great pickup. He adds depth and experience to our defensive core. He's played well enough to not get too much attention on himself and has been reliable. Best of all he's been a teamplayer and has been pro-team since the moment he signed his meager 0.7M $ contract. He led by example in this regard.
Would I have him around another year? I'm unsure if we have younglings ready to be called up. But for this year he's gained my respect and hopefully will get to put his name on another cup with les Canadiens de Montreal!
Oh, and for anyone interested... NHL.com just put up an article talking about the '08 draft and the lottery to determine who gets to pick where... apparently, "[...]the only Clubs with the opportunity to receive the first overall selection are the five teams with the lowest regular-season point totals[...]."
The Leafs are currently tied with Florida for eighth worst point total in the league with 83, higher than Phoenix and Columbus (80 each), the Islanders (77), St. Louis (75), Atlanta (74), Tampa (71) and Los Angeles (69).
None of these teams have more than three games to play, meaning that, even if they all won all their remaining games and Toronto picked up no points in their remaining two, the Leafs could only finish sixth worst in the league.
As such, they are mathematically eliminated from being eligible to draft first, assuming Cliff Fletcher doesn't come up with a miracle trade for it—and given where he was ranked in the THN GM list, there's no indication that he will—it's safe to say that Toronto have officially and catastrophically failed to achieve either of their supposed goals this season, that is to say, either to make the playoffs, or to tank for a shot at the first overall pick.
Everyone, go look up the word Schadenfreude and then bask in the gloriousness of it all.
In response to "usveresthem"...
My observation was in no way taking anything away from either goalie. It was a compliment to both of them and to Gainey for orchestrating positive changes. Just giving credit where credit is due - no matter who either team has played. The same argument could be said of the Habs dominating a struggling Ottawa team last night and last week! But, in the end, the team [and surely the goalies] have to play well to win. Kudos to both Price & Huet.
I agree, I'm happy to see Huet do well. I just wanted to put his success in context, is all. I'd say those numbers might be a little misleading—they are, at face value, pretty spectacular, but I think, rather than spectacular, that he has been very good when called upon, and has enabled his team to win games they might not have won with Kolzig or Johnson in net.
Why is no one talking about Price as a Calder trophy candidate?
Toews, Backstrom and Kane are worthy candidates for the award, but Chicago will miss the playoffs, and so might Washington. Price has been excellent in the stretch run and has developed tremendously since the beginning of the season.
This wouldn't have been a consideration in September, but if the awards were only based on the last 2 months of the season, Price would be a shoo-in.
He deserves to be nominated, at least.
Price has already won a Calder. ;)
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"All bow down before the Komisaurus Rex!"
Good point. Not sure what the criteria for Calder nominations are. Anyone know?
"The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season."
http://www.nhl.com/trophies/calder.html
Could this be a team of destiny? Very good chance! Here's to a deep playoff run!!!
Interesting stats on Price. He's playing excellent hockey, and I think we saw his best yet vs. the Sens last night. He'll only improve and that's got to be a concern to the rest of the NHL teams!
Not to bring any controversy or comparisons to the two goalies, but I was curious to see what Huet's stats were since being deported to Washington. He's playing some damn fine hockey down there, too. So, it seems Gainey is a genius as both goalies' play since the trade has excelled, which makes the trade-deadline transaction a "win-win" deal!
Here are Huet's stats as a Capital:
11 games
9 wins
2 losses
2 shutouts
1.75 GAA
.933 save %
That was a steal of a trade for Washington, good trade for the Habs as well but in hindsight they could have asked for a conditional 1st round pick if they made the playoffs.
Yeah, but...
Over that same time period, Price has been facing 34 shots against per game, against playoff calibre teams (New Jersey, Ottawa, Anaheim and SJ, for instance), while Huet has been facing 26 a game, mostly against teams from the Southeast Division... and he's played Boston three times, too.
I haven't been able to stop smiling, it was a fun night for all of us with a lot more to come for years. And that weasel Spezza taken down by Markov was great. (Super name for the big chicken Mike)
Not a whole lot more praise to say that has not already been said.
The only other thing that I would like to say is the only team I don't want to meet is the Sabers in the first round. I think we match up nicely against all others.
Life is good :)
Begin seemed to have more than just 2 shot blocks last night, but man was a deadly on the PK
OT: I was channel surfing and landed on Monday night Raw. I was about to change the channel when Chris Jericho was doing his entrance and was walking down the ramp and what do I see in the crowd...a WWE fan wearing a Habs road jersey.
The camera then went through the crowd and all the signs in the crowd when one caught my eye, it was a "Go Habs Go" sign. lol
I figured it was Raw live from the Bell Center. Nope, it was from Orlando. I guess we have fans everywhere! :)
Yup, it's a fine day to be a Habs fan!!
It's okay to admit that you like wrestling. :)
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"All bow down before the Komisaurus Rex!"
Lol
Actually, I did quite enjoy the Spezza vs Markov match.
Giving the importance of the game and the players they were missing, last night's game maybe the best one this team has played all season. After two lackluster showings in the previous games, the Habs put away the Senators, clinched the Northeast division and earned some needed R&R for the playoff push set to start in a week.
On December 23rd, after losing to Dallas, 4-1, the Habs found themselves with a fairly mediocre record of 17-13-6, having won only 6 out of their last 18 games. Since then however, this team has gone 28-12-4 and shown that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the Stanley Cup Play-offs.
The biggest reason for where the Habs now find themselves, is a big, talented Russian thoroughbred named Alex Kovalev. Since December 23rd, in the Habs last 44 games, Kovalev has logged 20 minutes or more a game 28 times. He has produced 52 points, including 20 goals and is an outstanding +16. Tomas Plekanec, Andrei Kostitsyn and Kovalev have scored 58 goals in that span and have accounted for 45% of all goals scored by the Habs. A even more telling stat may be that the rest of the forwards for the Montreal Canadiens have scored a grand total of 69 goals during these games.
The last two games of the season, I expect Carbo to reduce the workload of Kovalev significantly and let some of the other players carry the load. The playoffs start in a week and this team needs Kovalev at his best to win the Eastern Conference.
Right on, no need to go busting ourselves at this point to try getting 1st in the conference, too much risk for too little reward. Pittsburgh may not even be there once the conference finals come around.
I agree with you on Kovalev, and that line. Those stats you have there are amazing. I remember earlier in the year when some fans were complaining that Kovalev was not getting enough ice time, and that he should play at least 20 minutes a game, just like the other stars around the league. The better players thrive on additional ice time. What makes it more amazing is that period where there were a lot of suspicions that Kovalev was playing with an injury. He does indeed deserve a rest before the playoffs.
Update on those Bulldog injuries, Chipchura out 7-10 days and Valentenko is day to day, both with shoulder injuries.
http://www.thespec.com/Sports/Local%20Sports/article/348459
rs - Good work , it's very hard to get information on the Bulldogs especially injuries.
RS - They both have a good shot at next year's team. Valentenko could try for Brisebois' 7th spot on defense and Chipchura could try (again) for the 4th line checking role. In the process, we would give two more kids a shot and save money as well.
The Original 24 Cups
Any word on Bouillon....I heard no fracture but is he expected to return against Buffalo or is he still too swelled to play until Toronto.