3P 5:00:
They're booing Ryder every time he touches the puck.
3P 6:10:
Michel Lacroix is still announcing the penallties when Zetterberg smokes one, his 18th.
4-1
Place is emptying out fast.
3P 6:35:
Going down swinging. Koivu squares off with Samuelsson and Dandenault jumps the Red Wing.
3P 10:24:
Another PP. Koivu gets a good chance with the Canadiens' 16th shot. And Zetterberg breaks away. The crowd is booing every Cannadiens misstep ... which makes for plenty of booing.
3P 13:000:
Sarcastic applause for the first shhot of the period ... from a bad angle.
3P 13:08:
Shots are 29-12.
3P 15:18:
Another PP 0-for-3 so far.
3P 15:56:
They're booing bad cross-ice passes. Gettting ugly in here.
17:30:
Latendresse with Koivu and Higgins.
3P 19:00:
Farber says Detroit outshot St. Louis 38-12 last weeek. And St. Louis is prettty good this season. Wings are a machine.
3P 20:00:
I just want this to be over.
Between periods:
Hey, Nashville came back from 4-1. In the new NHL, you never know.
Yes you do. If the Canadiens beat Detroit tonight, thhe snow that blankets Montreal will melt tomorrow morning and turn into 25-year-old single malt.
2P 2:04:
That Zetterberg is something else. A magician out there. All over the ice.
2P 3:30:
Yay! A successful PK.
2P Break:
Here comes a Detroit PP. Shots are 25-12 and it's men against boys here. A Cup favourite against a work in progress.
2P 6:15:
Halak?
That one wasn't Price's fault. Detroit was running a shooting gallery in the Canadiens' end, and Niklas Kronvall deflected one home.
3-1
2P 8:00:
Shots are 20-10. Ten shots through half the game isn't going to do it.
2P Break:
Sports Illustrated's Michael Farber says Alexander Ovechkkin say Pavel Datsyuk is the best player in the league. "Might be that Russian homeboy stuff," Farber said. Yeah, like the University of Miami ... without guns.
2P 8:52:
Pavel Datsyuk OWNS Carey Price.
2-1
2P Commerciaal break:
Well, a lot closer than the first period. Canadiens forwards playing with some jump. But Detroit's ttransition is like a cobra: fast annd ddeadly. Good game.
2P 14:43:
Another PP. What did Carbo say between periods?
2P 15:45:
Christopher Higgins the opportunnist.
A blind backhand off a Koivu rebound beats Hasek.
1-1
2P 17:49:
Latendresse makes a nicecross-ice pass to Kovy who makes a drop pass ... to a guy in a white jersey.
2P 20:00:
Andrei MMarkov and Chris Chelios each played seven minutes
Between periods:
NHL stats are weird. They have seven Canadiens as minus-one in a 1-0 game. I mean, Detroit is good but ...
1P 2:23:
Not smart Koivu retaliates against Datsyuk and goes off.
1P 3:20:
Bégin giveaway, Datsyuk shot, Price not great
1-0
1P 6:15:
Another PP ... and Johan Franzen gets the best chance ... Markov has no zip on hhis shot
1P 8:30:
Ryder still on the first wave of the PP ... then Pleks line, and Kostitsyn gets a chance on the goalmouth ...
1P 8:55:
Chipchura hustle makes for penalty to Public Enemy Lilja and a power play. Canadiens getting a liitle bbit into thhe rhythm of the game
1P Commercial break:
More good work by Pleks line ... but it's the only one getting chances. Price has made sevenn saves, Hasek two.
1P 13:00:
Man, Detroit is good. They are onn the puck in a heartbeat, forcing the Canadiens to make fast – and sometimes bad – decisions. Shots are 6-2
1P 14:30:
Good shift for the Pleks line. Plenty of cycling, but no shots.
1P 16:52:
Great skating, no whistles. Were the Originall Six like this?
Andreas Lilja rides Bégin iinto the boards and hurts him. Crowd wants a call ... and doesn't get one.
1P 20:00:
10 minutes late. Whatt will this cost?
1P 20:00:
Koivu line against Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom
Ceremony:
On the scoreboard, Red Fisher and Bertrand Raymond talk about the Montreal-Detroit rivalry. Then a video montage (to Stevie Wonder's Uptight Out of Sight) old b&w footage of great hits and goals, the Richard Riot ... Red said one of his indelible memories is the 1966 final: Red Wings win first two, Canadiens win next four, with Henri Richard scoring in OT to win the Cup ... now there's a 15-minute warm-up, followed by introductions of old-time legends, like Gordie Howe and Stéphane Richer
More pre-game:
The ceremony is scheduled to start in three minutes, but there aren't 2,000 people here, with the weather and all. Maybe Canadiens will delay it ... and pay another NHL fine, as they did on Larry Robinson night
Pre-game:
The Detroit Red Wings are in Montreal, and so is a 1958-vintage snowfall.
Traffic is chaotic, but those of us old enough to remember the
pre-expansion NHL are tripping on the nostalgia of les neiges d'antan.
Whether we'll enjoy the game remains to be seen.
Some sobering stats:
Detroit is plus-18 on the season, Canadiens are minus 6.
Detroit averages 34.5 shots per game while surrendering 23.
Canadiens average 31.2 shots (the .2 was by Michael Ryder) while giving up 32.5.
Contrary to speculation, Ryder and Bryan Smolinskki will be in the lineup tonight, playing on the fourth line with Steve Bégin.
The other trios are Saku Koivu-Christopher Higgins-Mark Streit,
Tomas Plekanec-Alex Kovalev-Andrei Kostitsyn and Kyle
Chipchura-Guillaume Latendresse-Mathieu Dandenault.
Josh Gorges gets annother start. Tom Kostopoulos (again) and Mikhail Grabovski are healthy scratches.
Gordie Howe, who's at the Bell Centre for pre-game ceremonies tonight, was the most feared player in the 1950s NHL. Good with his elbows and his fists, Howe carved out a wide swath through players who couldn't match his size or toughness. That was then, this is now: Howe was six-foot-one and weighed 205 pounds. Kyle Chipchura is 6-2, 204. Alex Kovalev goes 6-1, 224, and Guillaume Latendresse is 6-2, 222. On defence, Mike Komisarek is 6-4, 240 and Roman Hamrlik is 6-2, 215. Andrei Markov is an inch shorter and a pound lighter than Howe. So on a Canadiens team that some fans and pundits consider too small, four players are bigger than Gordie Howe. Whether they're tougher than that Saskatchewan farm boy is another bushel of wheat ...
Hmmmm, the Penguins have put Mark Recchi on waivers. No way, I say ...
Share the agony and ecstasy of Habs fandom and read live blogs from every game with Gazette columnist Mike Boone.
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We're getting outplayed badly every game it seems. When we had the Xmas swoon last year it was the same thing. Why can't this team come out of the gates flying? What are the coaches saying to them in the room that gets them on their heels to start the game or period?
Will some one give Carboneau a mirror
Carbonneau to go, that was the crappest most embarrassing 2 and half hours I have spent in a long time. This is Montreal for crying out load, not nashville, pull your fingers out and play some hockey. The players need direction and at the moment Carbo's lost it.
it's pretty easy to point the finger at the coach, we've been dooing that for a long time in MTL and it never proved effective, SSDD. Sadly, in view of the last 7 years, if i was bob hartley, i' keep my cell phone open !!! easier to change a coach then a first line.
BTW, I got a dirty quater carbo makes those guys skate so hard today... giving them a reason to complain !!! 90 minutes no pucks
I personally think it migth be time for BG to give Carbo something to work with !!! trade, treahten, call up, pillage, murder, anyTHING !!!
am i the only one wishing this league did'nt have a salary cap !!! cos i'd rather complain about a player salary then complain about a loosing team with a pee wee attitude
i still love'em tough
Go HABS Go
Bob Hartley - got real lucky in Colorado and hasn't don't anything since. Was a total disaster in Atlanta. Dump the puck in and chase it. Throw in a little gooning as well. This man is totally out of whack with the new NHL game. The only thing he has going for him is he speaks French. Bring him to Montreal and you will really have something to cry about.
I guess that it was rather appropriate that on the Hab's 98th birthday that they played like a bunch of 98-year-olds. :)
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"Vote Saku for All-Star... or little Timmy gets it!!!"
Wow, Carbo...Calling out your best D-man and the Kid?
Something is not right with this guy, and it's smelling a lot like last year.
I won't ever understand why this organization brings in coaches who have ZERO experience at the NHL level. Is this some sort of conspiracy?
This is getting sickening and everything is starting to unravel.
Hey maybe we'll head on over to the draft lottery and pick up Tavares...oh wait, he'll probably get screwed over by the wonderful coaching we have here.
I'd really be curious to find out what the writers here think of all this Carbo bashing. I've done a bit of it myself, quite a bit of late, but I have so much respect for Carbo the player that I keep reminding myself to just let him do his job and see what happens. That man has laid down his body in front of slapshots so many times for this team that I'm inclined to give Carbo the Coach a measure of trust. It's just so frustrating as a fan to watch a team appear to flounder from on high, with confusing line changes, benchings that seem to punish hard work and bad luck, no aggressivity, no net crashing, no forecheck, no trap, no help for our goalies. But are we just latching on to Carbo because he's an easy target?
RDS is reporting that Halak and Price will be on the top line with Paul DiPietro on Thursday.
Go Habs Go!
Sweet! That only means one thing...the return of Andre Racicot!
Go Habnots Go!
Embarrassing.
I just watched the game on my DVR. We were totally outworked and played completely uninspired hockey, even though Mr Beliveau, Mr Howe, and others were in attendance.
The team requires fundamental changes. With respect to the lineup, Smoke, Brisebois, and Gorges should sit. Lapierre, Grabovski, and O'Byrne should play.
With respect to the lines, we cannot have two defensemen playing on the forward lines when we are struggling to score 5-on-5. Imagine if we had Desjardines playing with Muller and Bellows - it would be ridiculous. Each line should have a defined role (scoring, checking, or energy). Our lines are completely jumbled and nonsensical at this point.
Higgins-Pleks-Kovalev (played very well against Nashville)
Lats-Koivu-Ryder (played well last year when Higgy was hurt)
Begin-Chipchura-Dandy (checking line)
Kostitsyn-Grabovski-Lapierre (energy/speed)
Markov-Komi
Hamr-O'Byrne
Cube-Streit
Right now we don't have any players (aside from Komi) who could really respond to the hit from Lilja. Perhaps Lapierre and O'Byrne can improve our aggressiveness and toughness, especially in front of the net.
It's time to cut the deadweight and inject players into the lineup who will be willing to skate hard and drop their bodies down to block shots. The Habs are a far cry from Carbo's days when Carbo, Keane, Brunet, and others would drop down in a heartbeat to prevent the puck from getting to Roy.
I don't know... i think think Lapierre and O'byrne would be a plaster on a bullet wound.
Go HABS Go
They're up with the big club!
Habs don't have any player of Datsyuk or Zetterberg level...and i have'nt heard Timmins say that he's been hiding that kind of talent in the farm club !!!
THIS JUST IN... 21 000 people witness a beating they're only reaction we're Boo's and Choo's, first reports are telling us that those 21 000 peoples we're also robbed of at least a hundred bucks in the process !!!
Ryder looks so bad on the ice BG will get less then Ninnima for him.
Mark streit needs to stop giving the puck away. Price has given up 8 goals in last 2, but was only given 1 goal by is teamates in the 120 minutes process witch makes it hard to win !!!
Go HABS Go
my thoughts on why this team is doomed to fail with Carbo-nono as coach:
We are playing a broken system. It is the same system he played in Dallas with... It worked in Dallas because they had the goaltending, check, they had the defence, check, they had Modano and Hull, we have Koivu and Kovalev. The system relies on playing solid defense, and then capitalizing on scoring chances when the other team makes a mistake. Modano had 81 points in 77 games, including 34 goals, and Hull had 58 points in 60 games, including 32 goals. Nobody on this team is capable of what those 2 were doing that season....
They also had 28 goals from Nieuwendyk who had 55 points in 67 games, 20 goals from Lethinen (who also won the Selke that year). 99 points from Sydor and Zubov and a goaltending tandem of Belfour and Turek.
So we are playing the same system as that team. Lets compare:
They had 2 30+ goal scorers and another player that scored 28, we have 2 30 goal scorers in Kovalev and Ryder. Kovalev is no Modano and Ryder is no Hull. Smolinski is also no Lethinen.
Markov, Hamrlik and Komisarek isn't that different from Zubov, Sydor and Hatcher. And goaltending is very comparable in that both teams had a #1 goalie, and an eager young goalie looking to break out and become the #1.
The difference between the 2 teams is that we don't have the selke winner, and we can't score the way that team did. This system only works when you can limit the opposition's scoring chances (helps when you have a Selke winner) and can score on the few scoring chances your team gets from sitting back and waiting for the other team to make a mistake. We don't have a Modano or Hull... The system is bound to fail, and Carbonneau doesn't realize this considering he stuck with the system even though it obviously didn't work last year.
I like what you say a lot, but isn't there also an issue of confidence here? We have seen what players like Koivu, Kovalev, even Higgins and Ryder are capable of when they're playing well, and we also know all-too-well what it looks like when Kovalev loses the puck on every possession and Ryder can't put the puck in the net to save his life. The point is, though there may not be anything approaching a Modano or a Hull in Montreal, this team, when playing up to its potential, is *certainly* capable of being a playoff team, even under Carbo.
But the way they've been playing lately, not a chance. There's a problem here that is not simply lack of talent, though there is no doubt that poor coaching exacerbates the problem.
The team definately has the talent to make the playoffs. I figure they have the talent to finish somewhere in the 4-6 range in the east. The problem is that the players don't match the system. Another thing that helps with the trap is having a lot of size, you don't need speed to trap, you need size and the ability to capitalize on your few chances.
The Canadiens are one of the fastest teams in the league, yet you almost never see them use it. If we were playing a system similar to Buffalo, that used our greatest asset, our speed, we'd be getting a lot of odd man rushes and scoring a lot more goals. This particular team will never succeed in any kind of trap, especially once as flawed as this. This team needs to play an offense and speed game.
Ya screw carbo man
he doesnt know what the hell he's doing
With all this defensive depth we have none on offence!!
carbonneau is so damn concerned with playing defence that he likes havince defencemen play forward!!
i bet if we had some offence, we wouldnt be giving up 4 goals a night
offence is the best defence. we have goalies who can do the job
carbo needs to shut his damn yap in regards to price!!! the damn kis is 20 damn years old stfu carbo! dont ruin him u p.o.s.!
True. Anyone with any hockey sense knows that this was not Price's game to lose. 16 shots on Hasek will not win a game. And, Detroit has a potent offense with loads of talent, which is why they are #1 in the league and will place in the top 5 by the end of the regular season. AND, Mike Babcock is a superior coach to Carbo. Habs didn't have the talent or the coaching to win tonight.
He did let in 3 soft goals... a shot anywhere beyond the faceoff circles HAVE to be stopped and the rebounds have to be controlled.
Yes the team played like complete ASS out there tonight but still. I thought Price was gonna do much better... but then again, that's what I get for listening to the hype, right?
Self-fulfilling prophecies.
And Plek-Andrew is NEVER WRONG, YOU HEAR ME?!?!
:D
Pleks..... u disappoint me....... I thought u were smarter than that..... the kid is twenty years old... and u expect him to carry this gang of bums on his back..... even Roy had a decent team in front of him.... you need to check into the general hospital for a complete check up man.... if you really want to know the truth from an expert..... I'll give it to you.... Carbonneau is a weak coach..... everyone can see that..... except you of course.... how can a team be so good and then fall apart every year... I'll tell you how it happens.... when you have a pig headed coach who points out specific players every time the waves get a little bumpy.... thats how.... Carbonneau needs to stick up for his players when the chips are down.... not make a public spectacle of them.... its just a matter of time before Kovalev tanks his game too..... It really makes me sick that Gainey stands behind this guy.... a great player but DEFINITELY not coach material..... I have been saying from last year that with the right coach this team would do wonders..... shake the NHL..... tonight, after he pointed out Price as the guilty party for the loss.... sickening.... what a loser...... like it has been said here before Carbonneau should take a look in the mirror.... and stop calling JoJo Savard for advice on the line up.....
1st goal - soft
2nd goal - top corner bullet blocker side off quick release with partial screen = ~10% chance of save
3rd goal - long shot through traffic which deflected off 2 players = no chance
4th goal - could be considered soft
All goals - beer league in front of him = loss
you saw the same camera angle shot we all saw on when he was being screened. He was leaning to his left to see the puck. Ive never seen him do so any other time.
I agree with the left side cheat, plus he plays too deep and has a slow glove hand and poor lateral movement. In other words, he needs more time to develop into a great goalie at this level. But, can I blame Price for the loss? NO.
You're the first person that I've ever heard say that Price has poor lateral movement. Believe me, if he can see the puck, and thus where he needs to move to, the guy is killer quick. Same goes for his glove.
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"Vote Saku for All-Star... or little Timmy gets it!!!"
Hard to see those comments from Carbonneau, especially the ones about Markov and Price. Might be time for Gainey to have a chat with him and set him straight as to what he can and cannot say to the press, because thats bad.
I thought the Canadiens got beat by a very good team tonight. However, there were some costly errors that didn't need to be made, specifically by Stevie B (whom I love) and Mark Streit who simply should not be on the top line. It's unfair to both him and his linemates. It might be time to simply put Ryder back on that line. Of course, Kovalev would look dynamite there as well.
Whatever they do, I hope they don't put Ryder back on the 1st line. His time is up! See ya! If anything, put Koivu with Kovy and Kostitsyn if you want some production. I feel bad for Streit playing forward. Poor coaching is the #1 cause of many of Habs' woes. Lack of talent ranks high on the troubleshooting list, too.
Hey Carbo, I got news for you. They also need better COACHING! Look in the mirror first, before you start pointing fingures.
They'll fire Carbo and then ask BreezeBy to be a Player/Head Coach
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