Habs-Sens

Some observations on tonight's Montreal-Ottawa game:

• Claude Julien has to start instilling a sense of discipline in his team. The Canadiens probably lead the league in too-many-men penalties, and they got another one tonight. It's embarrassing for a coach to continually get penalties like that, because it exposes the level of disorganization on the bench. More importantly, it's an idiotic penalty that could be avoided.
  
• The Habs seemed to be playing quite lazily, as if they were reserved to losing to the Sens. It's not the first time I've noticed that this season - against other teams as well - and it's an attitude they're going to have to lose if they ever want to win another game this season. It's starting to look like the old days for the Habs, and by 'old days' I mean the decade of futility that was the post-1993 1990s.
  
• When is Rick Green, the assistant coach in charge of defencemen, going to teach his troops, and the forwards too, for that matter, how to cover the man standing in front of José Theodore? Too often this season I've seen Mathieu Dandenault or other defensemen out of position when they clearly could have been pushing an opposing player out of the way, and it has resulted in too many goals against, including at least one tonight against Ottawa.
  

Hopefully these issues will be addressed so that the Canadiens don't turn in another sub-par season. It's getting more than a little frustrating to watch the Habs play and make these stupid, avoidable mistakes.

Hainsey a Jacket

RDS is reporting that Ron Hainsey has been picked up on waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Canadiens tried to call up Hainsey due to Andrei Markov's suspension and Sheldon Souray's injury, but they had to place him on waivers first. Hainsey, 24, had 3 goals and 14 assists in 22 games for the Hamilton Bulldogs this season, but has struggled to crack the Habs' lineup since being drafted in 2000. He has played only 32 games with the NHL club, and was passed over by Habs coaches in favour of Mike Komisarek the past two seasons.

After losing Hainsey, the Habs recalled Jean-Philippe Côté of the Bulldogs. I wonder if GM Bob Gainey knew that Hainsey would be picked up, and, if he did, was there a reason that he didn't try to get someone in return for Hainsey?

Laffable

This is clearly going to come off as an angry Habs fan's rant, but I'll try to be as objective as I possibly can. Last night's game was atrocious. I find it hard to believe that a game officiated by four Ontarians in Toronto, broadcast on Hockey Night in Toronto, could possibly have been reffed objectively. I find it hard to believe that the refs honestly thought Steve Bégin was trying to hook Jeff O'Neill when he clearly was attempting to reach for the puck to shoot it on net. I find it hard to believe that the officials bought into their own claim that Andrei Markov had made incidental contact with Eddie Belfour on his goal that got waved off, when it was quite clear that a.) Markov had been pushed, and b.) that it was a Leafs defender, and not Markov, that made the hampering contact with Belfour. The least that Dean Warren and Kevin Pollock, from Toronto and Kincardine, Ontario, respectively, could have done is swallow their pride and check with the replay men upstairs. I guess, though, that when you're leaning towards one side already, you might as well just let it go. Most of all, I find it hard to believe that in this "new" NHL, where all infractions are supposed to be called, the Maple Leafs, notoriously one of the NHL's dirtiest and dive-happy teams, could only have been guilty of three - yes, I said it: THREE - penalties the entire 60 minutes, while the Canadiens, a team built on speed and finesse, were called for six. To be fair, the Craig Rivet penalty was partially acceptable, although when you consider the fact that the Leafs got away with several trips and hooks that should have been whistled down, or that the referees put their whistles away in the third period until the Rivet call at the very end of regulation time, all things considered it was an objectionable penalty. What I don't find hard to believe, however, is that it bodes well for the league, the CBC and all their fans every time the Maple Leafs win a hockey game, especially when it seems 'close' and 'hard-fought.' I really wish Claude Julien would lose his head every once in awhile, even if it would have cost him some money in fines. The refs deserve to be called out when they're not up to snuff, and boy, were they bad last night. What a shameful display by the NHL and its officials.

Habs-Leafs

Habs All the Way. Tricolore Jusqu'au Bout.

A look at Nov. 13-19

Recap

The Canadiens had a shaky start to the week in a nailbiter at the Bell Centre Tuesday night vs. the Panthers. After going up 3-0 with goals from Richard Zednik and Steve Bégin in the first and Saku Koivu in the second, the Habs relented in the third and gave up what should have been an indestructible lead. But, with 4 seconds left in overtime, Saku Koivu, on a long pass from Sheldon Souray, scored a goal that would have brought a 1964 Pinto back to the life and the Cardiac Canadiens prevailed again.

On Friday, the Habs weren't much better and ended up on the losing side of a 4-3 decision against the Devils in New Jersey. Montreal allowed the Devils to go up 2-0 in the first period, then came back hard in the second and scored 3 goals, only to have their lead taken away late in the period. Then, New Jersey scored in the middle of the third period, and there was no turning back from there.

Saturday, the Canadiens played the awful Washington Capitals at the Bell Centre and were quite awful themselves. It took the Capitals only 23 seconds to score against their hosts, and after 9:20 of play, Washington, second-last in the East, was leading first-place Montreal, 3-0. Yann Danis, who started the game, let in a weak fourth goal in the second period and was replaced by José Theodore shortly thereafter. Michael Ryder managed to put one past Olaf Kolzig in the second with his ninth score of the season, but Kolzig, peppered with 44 Canadiens shots, didn't let anything else get past him and the Caps won 5-1. Washington didn't even need any help from rookie star Alexander Ovechkin, who was held pointless in the game.

Montreal really has to start finding a way to play a consistent and productive 60 minutes, rather than relying on bursts of good play. They're not going to win late-season games the way they are right now, and they're certainly not going to win playoff games like this. One-goal games might be exciting, but they're not a sign of a dominating team, no matter how many of those games go in your favour. In addition, the Habs can't rely on the talent - however immense it may be - of Alex Kovalev for their success. The Habs' top right winger is out until December recovering from knee surgery, and his absence has correlated with sub-par play from his team. While it is important to have a player of Kovalev's caliber, the Canadiens won't do themselves any good in the playoffs in depending on him for a win in the event he gets injured.

Tidbits:

• The Canadiens might want to have a look at ousted Blue Jackets centre Todd Marchant (3 G, 6 A, -1, 20 PIM), who became the odd man out in Columbus when Sergei Fedorov was brought in. Marchant is 32 and making $2.47 million this season, but if the Jackets, who need to shed some salary, would be interested in acquiring Pierre Dagenais (27 years old, $550,000, 1 G, 2 A, -5, 16 PIM), Bob Gainey should seriously take a look at the deal. Marchant would add some depth to the centre position for the Habs, and would give the club the opportunity to finally rid themselves of Dagenais, who has been unproductive and a flat-out waste of a roster spot. He seemed sluggish and unable to capitalize on the many scoring chances he had in the Washington game. The only knock against Marchant asides from his age is that his contract runs for three years.
  
• The Minnesota Wild held a tribute this week for late former player Sergei Zholtok in a game against the Nashville Predators. Zholtok, a former Canadien, died tragically during the lockout of heart failure while playing hockey in Latvia. The Wild brought in members of Zholtok's family, including his son, and presented them with a framed jersey of his. Zholtok had a fair bit of success in the NHL, having scored 26 goals one season with the Habs, and was dedicated to his native Latvia's national hockey team. The Wild's tribute video can be seen here.
  
• Kerry Fraser strikes again: Fraser, who called the Canadiens' 3-2 shootout loss to the Penguins back on November 10, was back torturing the Canadiens in their 4-3 loss to New Jersey. Someone get this guy out of the NHL!
  
• Popularity contest: The Canadiens, as per usual, are the top team in attendance this season. They have sold out every home game so far this year in the NHL's biggest building (capacity 21,273). What's probably more impressive, though, is that the Canadiens are a draw away from home as well. As of Sunday, the Habs were 5th in the NHL in road attendance, behind only Philadelphia, Vancouver, Detroit, and Ottawa, and had been hovering around #3 until they played the Devils, who don't get many people to come to any of their games. I wonder how long this trend will continue if the Habs keep letting in soft goals and giving teams easy wins.

Two Apples and a Rotten Pear:

Apple 1: Saku Koivu, for his continued dedication to the team. The Habs' leading scorer with 25 points, he has been the heart and soul of the Canadiens for most of the 10 years he's been with the club.
Apple 2: Tomas Plekanec. Playing with Koivu and Richard Zednik mostly on the power play, rookie Plekanec scored a goal and two assists this week.

Rotten Pear: José Theodore and Yann Danis. The Habs' goaltending tandem has to take their game to a higher level, one in which they don't let in soft goals that make it too close for their team's comfort.

Coming Up:

It's another 3-game week for the Canadiens. Tuesday, the Habs play Atlanta at home (7:30 PM); Friday, they're in Buffalo to play the Sabres (8 PM); Saturday, the team travels to Toronto to take on the Leafs at the ACC (7 PM).

Theodore injured?

My friend has informed me of a CKAC report stating that goaltender José Theodore is injured. I haven't been able to find anything on their website or on that of RDS', which is usually the first to post any news about the Canadiens. More on this later.

Update (2 PM): Theodore has now announced that he has been playing with a tweak in his groin for the past week or so, but he hasn't decided whether or not he will play tonight against New Jersey. Either way, it seems like Yann Danis will be getting some action this weekend, as Theodore has said he won't play back-to-back games so as not to aggravate his injury.

Update (4 PM): RDS is reporting that Theodore will in fact play tonight at New Jersey. No word on whether he will also start tomorrow at home against Washington, although that will likely depend on how his groin injury is progressing.

Lapierre recalled

The Canadiens have recalled prospect Maxim Lapierre from Hamilton to fill in for the injured Alex Kovalev. I'm guessing that Claude Julien doesn't plan on using Pierre Dagenais any more than his usual 5 minutes per game, unless Lapierre is just being called in as backup in case of another injury. We'll see tonight.

The Canadiens' article here.

It looks like Alexander Perezhogin will get to see some more time with Saku Koivu and Richard Zednik, as it seems like Julien has penciled him in on the number 1 line tonight.

Also, Yann Danis will be getting the start in goal tonight. Cristobal Huet is still in Hamilton on a conditioning stint.

A look at Nov. 6-12

Recap

The Canadiens had what can probably be described as their first so-so week of the season, although it certainly wasn't without a good start and some solid efforts on the ice. On Tuesday, the Cardiac Canadiens, as they've become known, engineered another impressive comeback, this time at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 3-2.

However, the Habs' fortunes changed somewhat when they played the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Thursday. After going down 2-0 in a lackluster first period, the Canadiens managed to tie the game despite a superior performance by former Montreal netminder Jocelyn Thibault (who, by the way, probably played a better game than he ever had as a Canadien). The Habs' comeback effort, though, was stopped short in dramatic fashion in the club's first-ever shootout. Sidney Crosby, who idolized the Canadiens growing up, and whose dad was drafted by them, scored a beautiful highlight-reel goal on José Theodore on the sixth and final shot of the frame to win it for his team.

Saturday, the Canadiens faced off against the Maple Leafs in a game that could only serve as a reminder of the misfortunes the team had suffered in the recent past: lots of effort (18-4 shot advantage in the first) and a bit of bad luck (Jason Allison's fluke tying goal off the back of Theodore). The Maple Leafs took advantage of a power play in overtime to take the game, although the Canadiens still left the week with 4 of a possible 6 points.

Tidbits:

• The Tampa Bay Lightning are a far cry from the superpower team they were just one season ago. Captain Dave Andreychuk is struggling and getting scratched, Martin St. Louis is nowhere near the level of play that won him the Hart Trophy, and goalies Sean Burke and John Grahame have been trouble with their injuries and spotty play.
  
• Can anyone honestly remember Jocelyn Thibault playing as well as he did in a Canadiens uniform? Sure, he had some fairly decent seasons with the Blackhawks following the Jeff Hackett trade, but it still surprised me that the one time the Canadiens should have had a must-win night against the tame Penguins, he turns in what could have been the performance of his career.
  
• Sheldon Souray, still reeling from his breakup with model-actress Angelica Bridges, has looked distracted and out of place. He needs to do a little soul-searching, but I'm confident he can bounce back and regain his form of last season.
  
• Kerry Fraser should never be allowed to officiate another Canadiens game following his blunder of a call in the 2002 playoffs which ended up costing Montreal their series against the Carolina Hurricanes. He continued to make some questionable calls in the Pittsburgh game which were not in line with the emphasis on the NHL's new rules.
  
• What in the name of Dickie Moore and Yvan Cournoyer was Bégin thinking when he missed a wide-open net that would have cushioned the Canadiens' lead in the third period of the Toronto game?? He almost made us forget his heroics in late October and his game-tying goal against the Leafs - almost...
  
• CBC = Coloured, Biased Commentating: The CBC's broadcast of the Montreal-Toronto game was spoken in an exceptionally pro-Leafs tone, which is a shame to Canadians and to the network's objectivity. As a publicly-funded corporation, the CBC has an obligation to represent all Canadians in its content. Hockey fans of all persuasions, not just Toronto fans, pay taxes which contribute to the CBC's budget. As such, Hockey Night in Canada should not lean towards the Maple Leafs. If Don Cherry, Bob Cole, and Harry Neale want to get all giddy about their boys in blue, the CBC can gladly broadcast them in the Toronto region, but it still has a duty to provide other Canadians with a chance to watch their teams. Besides, even Leafs fans would probably rather enjoy the firewagon hockey that the other Canadian teams - especially in Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa - are displaying; the Leafs are a team that belongs in the old NHL - they're old, overpriced, and not that exciting to watch.
  
• Monday update: Canadiens GM Bob Gainey announced that Alex Kovalev will be out for the next 3-4 weeks. The Russian star, second in team scoring with 19 points, will require surgery to fine-tune his knee that was injured several seasons ago. Habs fans can take solace in the fact that the surgery is happening early on in the season, and not closer to playoff time. Kovalev's absence is still likely to be quite the challenge for the Canadiens to overcome, and it will be interesting to see what Claude Julien does to compensate for his missing left wing.
  

Coming Up:

The Habs play host to Roberto Luongo and the Panthers on Tuesday (7:30 PM), then travel to the Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey on Friday (7:30 PM), and return to the Bell Centre Saturday for Montreal's first look at Russian rookie star Alexander Ovechkin of the Capitals (7 PM, SRC).

Two Apples and a Rotten Pear:

Apple 1: Craig Rivet and Andrei Markov, for stellar defensive play and timely offensive contributions.
Apple 2: Alex Kovalev. Enough said.

Rotten Pear: Sheldon Souray, for not playing up to par. I like him, I really do; he's one of my favourite Habs, but he needs to step up his game.

Huet returning

Yann Danis has been sent to the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs, making room for French backup Cristobal Huet to finally join the team after rehabilitating from injury.

TSN's article here.

Thursday update: According to the Canadiens' official site, Danis has been sent down to play two games in Hamilton in order for him to get warmed up. He will then rejoin the Canadiens Saturday for the Leafs game, allowing Huet to go down to the Bulldogs for a conditioning stint. Afterwards, Danis will go back to Hamilton and Huet will rejoin the Canadiens as Theodore's new backup, this time for good.

Welcome

I am a lifelong Montreal Canadiens fan who watches the team intently and who has a strong interest in writing about them. I have endured the Canadiens' decade-long slump that was the late 1990's-early 2000's and am now looking forward to a turning of the page in 2005-2006. I have created this site as a way of providing a fan's perspective on the team's performance, and I hope it provides some added insight into the current season - and beyond - of the National Hockey League's most storied franchise.

Stay tuned for my first update on Sunday, and for tidbits of information to appear throughout the week.