Last night was much more than a hockey game, of course. But even leaving the pre-game ceremony aside, last night's game was more than just a regular-season matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins. As Carey Price put it, "We all played inspired hockey." The Canadiens played like champions last night.
When two rivals meet, you can forget their regular-season records. Rivalries bring out the best and worst in teams, and all that matters for these games is who wins, not who has the better record overall.
But even then, the Canadiens rose above an ordinary rivalry game.
Last night, Carey Price channeled Patrick Roy, with all the swagger, cockiness, and skill.
Stephane Auger and the otherwise irreprovable Bill McCreary did their part. It was like seeing a replay of the calls that led to Maurice Richard assaulting an official, with one-sided calls that saw Montreal have to kill off TWO extended five-on-three penalties.
And kill them off they did. Along with Price's sensational performance, the penalty killers were equally magnificent. If the refereeing was circa 1955, the Canadiens' play was vintage 1960.
And Mike Cammalleri (sorry 31, but you're going to have to fight 21,000 other female Habs fans who want to marry him): a hat trick from the Canadiens' best player. It seems he has silenced all his critics who said he could not produce without Jarmome Iginla.
In truth, this was not a regular-season game. The Canadiens will probabaly not play the kind of hockey they did last very frequently this year. Last night, they were possessed. The team we saw last night was not the 2009-2010 Canadiens - they were the ghosts of Richard and Morenz, Plante and Geoffrion. They took over the bodies of this otherwise mediocre team and dominated their opponents. It was good to see. Because now we can take Ken Dryden's advice and move on from the past, and let Montreal focus on the present and future. But we can remember that when Montreal celebrated its Centennial, its team gave a performance worthy of being remembered as one of the best ever played.
Some random thoughts from the game:
How cool was it to see Patrick Roy skate out, in full uniform? We got a peak before as he was standing behind the curtain, and seeing the C-33 helmet was chilling. Even better, we all go treated to seeing him with his mask on, taking shots, looking not all that different from the man we who stood in the paint taking warmup shots back in 1993.
Very classy move by Gordie Howe to being out the sweater of his rival number 9, Maurice Richard.
Too bad Ryan White and Tom Pyatt didn't play. I see White is going back to Hamilton. See you back again soon, Ryan.
Seriously. When you SLASH the otehr team's goalie, don't act surprised when you get shoved to the ice. And if you're a referee, don't call two penalties when a team stands up against that kind of shit.
Hal Gill, welcome back.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Bruins-Habs preview - Centennial Edition
Habs-Bruins. On the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Canadiens' founding. Their first game actually occurred January 5, 1910. The Canadiens will be on the road against Washington for the anniversary of their first game, so tonight is when the team celebrates its history. (Incidentally, the Habs won that first-ever game against Cobalt in overtime, 7-6. Their season record, however, was 2-10.)
Montreal will undoubtedly be treating its fans to a lengthy pre-game encomium. We'll undoubtedly see Richard, Lafleur, Dryden, Roy, and a long list of other greats who have played for Montreal. Highlights galore: 1993 Game 2, 1979 semi-finals...
Any discussion of the Montreal Canadiens must inevitably also include the Boston Bruins. The Bruins are very much a part of Montreal's history.
So many of the Canadiens' triumphs have come at the expense of the Bruins. They are too numerable to count here, but we all know them. At this very moment, the reader is seeing those replays in his/her head. But then again, the Canadiens have also suffered at the hands of the Bruins, especially during the days of the Adams Division matchups. Last year's playoffs were also a bitter about-face from the previous domination the Canadiens had asserted over Boston.
So we come to tonight's game, in which the Montreal Canadiens play the Bruins for the umpteenth time.
The Habs these days, for lack of a better word, suck. They are riding a four-game losing streak, and for the last two games have put forth two of the worst efforts many Habs fans have seen in a LONG time.
The Bruins, on the other hand, sit fifth in the Conference, with a 14-8-5 record.
The result seems pretty clear. Perhaps Montreal will win, but it's not likely, given the way things are going for both teams. But even if Montreal wins, the fans have some serious questions to ask:
Why isn't Saku Koivu going to be part of the celebration? If any current NHL player deserves to be here this night, it is he. He is tied with Jean Beliveau as the longest-serving captain of the Canadiens. Someone on another blog asked who would be at center-ice in 20 or 30 years when the Canadiens celebrate their past and honor their past players. The answer would have been Saku Koivu. Instead we celebrate our fine history with a team without a captain.
Why does this team look like a glorified minor-league team?
Are our best years behind us? The Habs last won the Stanley Cup in 1993. They are currently in the longest Cup drought in team history. It would be one thing if the team were celebrating its 100th anniversary with a good, if not great, team. But tonight, Montreal celebrates the history of one of sports greatest franchises with a current roster that is mediocre at best.
They are, frankly, an embarrassment.
We as fans feel a little bit awkward celebrating such a glorious past with such a poor team in the present. It's not so much acknowledging what a great franchise Montreal is, but rather what a great team the Canadiens used to be.
And that is a huge difference. It's like remembering the anniversary of a long-divorced spouse, instead of sharing a candle-lit dinner and toasting to continued matrimonial bliss.
So good luck to the Habs. I'll be watching, and remembering.
Oh, you wanted a real preview? OK, here goes:
Plekanec, White (woot!), Pyatt, Cammalleri = good
Price = goalie.
everyone else = suck
Markov = injured
Mara, Sturm, Savard, everyone = good
Thomas/Rask = goalie
no one? = suck
Lucic (thank God, now maybe we have a chance of winning) = injured
Montreal will undoubtedly be treating its fans to a lengthy pre-game encomium. We'll undoubtedly see Richard, Lafleur, Dryden, Roy, and a long list of other greats who have played for Montreal. Highlights galore: 1993 Game 2, 1979 semi-finals...
Any discussion of the Montreal Canadiens must inevitably also include the Boston Bruins. The Bruins are very much a part of Montreal's history.
So many of the Canadiens' triumphs have come at the expense of the Bruins. They are too numerable to count here, but we all know them. At this very moment, the reader is seeing those replays in his/her head. But then again, the Canadiens have also suffered at the hands of the Bruins, especially during the days of the Adams Division matchups. Last year's playoffs were also a bitter about-face from the previous domination the Canadiens had asserted over Boston.
So we come to tonight's game, in which the Montreal Canadiens play the Bruins for the umpteenth time.
The Habs these days, for lack of a better word, suck. They are riding a four-game losing streak, and for the last two games have put forth two of the worst efforts many Habs fans have seen in a LONG time.
The Bruins, on the other hand, sit fifth in the Conference, with a 14-8-5 record.
The result seems pretty clear. Perhaps Montreal will win, but it's not likely, given the way things are going for both teams. But even if Montreal wins, the fans have some serious questions to ask:
Why isn't Saku Koivu going to be part of the celebration? If any current NHL player deserves to be here this night, it is he. He is tied with Jean Beliveau as the longest-serving captain of the Canadiens. Someone on another blog asked who would be at center-ice in 20 or 30 years when the Canadiens celebrate their past and honor their past players. The answer would have been Saku Koivu. Instead we celebrate our fine history with a team without a captain.
Why does this team look like a glorified minor-league team?
Are our best years behind us? The Habs last won the Stanley Cup in 1993. They are currently in the longest Cup drought in team history. It would be one thing if the team were celebrating its 100th anniversary with a good, if not great, team. But tonight, Montreal celebrates the history of one of sports greatest franchises with a current roster that is mediocre at best.
They are, frankly, an embarrassment.
We as fans feel a little bit awkward celebrating such a glorious past with such a poor team in the present. It's not so much acknowledging what a great franchise Montreal is, but rather what a great team the Canadiens used to be.
And that is a huge difference. It's like remembering the anniversary of a long-divorced spouse, instead of sharing a candle-lit dinner and toasting to continued matrimonial bliss.
So good luck to the Habs. I'll be watching, and remembering.
Oh, you wanted a real preview? OK, here goes:
Plekanec, White (woot!), Pyatt, Cammalleri = good
Price = goalie.
everyone else = suck
Markov = injured
Mara, Sturm, Savard, everyone = good
Thomas/Rask = goalie
no one? = suck
Lucic (thank God, now maybe we have a chance of winning) = injured
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Memo to Pierre McGuire
Dunder Mifflin Canadiens External Communication
To: Pierre McGuire
From: Everyone
Date: 12/2/09
Re: Pinching
Mr McGuire:
In response to your asinine assertion that Roman Hamrlik somehow made a mistake by not pinching on the play leading to the maple leafs' third goal last night, we would like to inform you that no NHL coach would ever approve of a defenseman pinching in that situation.
Therefore, please be advised to shut your cakehole until further notice.
***
To: Pierre McGuire
From: Everyone
Date: 12/2/09
Re: Pinching
Mr McGuire:
In response to your asinine assertion that Roman Hamrlik somehow made a mistake by not pinching on the play leading to the maple leafs' third goal last night, we would like to inform you that no NHL coach would ever approve of a defenseman pinching in that situation.
Therefore, please be advised to shut your cakehole until further notice.
***
Monday, November 30, 2009
Memo to Jacques Martin:
Dunder Mifflin Co. Internal Memo
To: Jacques Martin
From: Everyone
Date: 11/29/09
Re: Common Sense vis-a-vis Tomas Plekanec
Mr Martin,
Please cease and desist from any further use of Tomas Plekanec in the shootout. His stats are awful in the shootout, as he has like one goal in 17 chances or something like that. Any further shootout appearances by Plekanec, regardless of his in-game performance, will not be tolerated.
***
To: Jacques Martin
From: Everyone
Date: 11/29/09
Re: Common Sense vis-a-vis Tomas Plekanec
Mr Martin,
Please cease and desist from any further use of Tomas Plekanec in the shootout. His stats are awful in the shootout, as he has like one goal in 17 chances or something like that. Any further shootout appearances by Plekanec, regardless of his in-game performance, will not be tolerated.
***
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Georges Laraque
You're dead to me, Georges. Bob Gainey brought you in to add some intimidation to our roster. What you did was chat nicely and invite Milan Lucic to fight, graciously allowing him to beg off and pound your teammates instead. You mouthed off, you didn't fight, you didn't intimidate. Then last night, you nearly cost your team a game. I was honestly surprised to see you play another shift (aside: WTF, Jacques Martin?!?).
Let me clear up any misconceptions some of you out there have. When you are going for a hit, sometimes you will instinctively stick out a leg or something when your opponent dodges your check. That's normal, but you have to control that instinct. Sometimes it happens so instantaneiously there is no time to react, and the leg goes out. Otehr times, the guy has dodged you early and you stikc that leg out in a conscious effort to get some body contact, even though you know it's wrong. Just as goalies have to consciously not duck their heads when a 98-mph slap shot head their way, players have to think. And Laraque had plenty of time to decide NOT to stick that leg out. He knew better, yet he did it anyways. And he betetr as hell have played his last game in a Montreal uniform. What SHOULD have happened was for Georges to get four for the high stick, and five and game for the knee.
The referees made up for their lax call by giving penalties to Mara, Moen, and O'Byrne. So that evens out, but doesn't excuse teh refs for A) bad penalty calling, and B) even-up calls, which are BULLSHIT.
In any case, you're dead to me Georges. I just wanted to let you know why.
Let me clear up any misconceptions some of you out there have. When you are going for a hit, sometimes you will instinctively stick out a leg or something when your opponent dodges your check. That's normal, but you have to control that instinct. Sometimes it happens so instantaneiously there is no time to react, and the leg goes out. Otehr times, the guy has dodged you early and you stikc that leg out in a conscious effort to get some body contact, even though you know it's wrong. Just as goalies have to consciously not duck their heads when a 98-mph slap shot head their way, players have to think. And Laraque had plenty of time to decide NOT to stick that leg out. He knew better, yet he did it anyways. And he betetr as hell have played his last game in a Montreal uniform. What SHOULD have happened was for Georges to get four for the high stick, and five and game for the knee.
The referees made up for their lax call by giving penalties to Mara, Moen, and O'Byrne. So that evens out, but doesn't excuse teh refs for A) bad penalty calling, and B) even-up calls, which are BULLSHIT.
In any case, you're dead to me Georges. I just wanted to let you know why.
Washington report
So, I was at Friday night's game in D.C. Here's my report.
Sat up in the nosebleeds, still a pretty good view, though most of the goals were scored at the opposite end of the ice from where we were sitting, though we did get a great view of Cammalleri's powerplay goal in the third.
I wore my KOIVU #11 jersey as an homage to our dearly departed captain. Bought a Capitals hat, and confused a lots of folks.
Bride of Kovalev wore my Moscow Dynamo Ovechkin jersey. P-Stone has called it "the best-looking jersey ever."
Despite my love for Ovy, I have to say I'm glad he didn't do any highlight-worthy stuff that night. Actually, in the three games I've seen him play, he did not factor into the scoring at all. Hmmm. I'm willing to entertain offers from other teams who want to keep him from scoring...
Actually, I was not expecting that outcome at all. It was one of the most exciting hockey games I've been to, but seriously, Habs, can you guys cut the heart-attack crap?
Caps fans were pretty friendly, but still, not nearly as knowledgable as the fans up north. Work on this, Caps fans.
Observation: The Caps have done a good job tapping into Ovechkin's marketability. That said, the Caps, even if they had the same record, would not be selling nearly as many tickets as they do without Ovechkin.
Habs did not play all that well Friday night, but they played well enough to win against a good team having an off night. The beginning of the second period was brutal. We got to see plenty of THAT, and it was not fun to watch. At all.
Fun game, lots of Habs fans there, as usual in any city. Saw a woman wearing a Nordiques jersey; told her that was a sweater I could definitely NOT get behind.
Habs players represented by fans: Cammalleri, Koivu, Kovalev!, Roy, Huet, Theodore, Price (LOTS of people wearing that one).
Sat up in the nosebleeds, still a pretty good view, though most of the goals were scored at the opposite end of the ice from where we were sitting, though we did get a great view of Cammalleri's powerplay goal in the third.
I wore my KOIVU #11 jersey as an homage to our dearly departed captain. Bought a Capitals hat, and confused a lots of folks.
Bride of Kovalev wore my Moscow Dynamo Ovechkin jersey. P-Stone has called it "the best-looking jersey ever."
Despite my love for Ovy, I have to say I'm glad he didn't do any highlight-worthy stuff that night. Actually, in the three games I've seen him play, he did not factor into the scoring at all. Hmmm. I'm willing to entertain offers from other teams who want to keep him from scoring...
Actually, I was not expecting that outcome at all. It was one of the most exciting hockey games I've been to, but seriously, Habs, can you guys cut the heart-attack crap?
Caps fans were pretty friendly, but still, not nearly as knowledgable as the fans up north. Work on this, Caps fans.
Observation: The Caps have done a good job tapping into Ovechkin's marketability. That said, the Caps, even if they had the same record, would not be selling nearly as many tickets as they do without Ovechkin.
Habs did not play all that well Friday night, but they played well enough to win against a good team having an off night. The beginning of the second period was brutal. We got to see plenty of THAT, and it was not fun to watch. At all.
Fun game, lots of Habs fans there, as usual in any city. Saw a woman wearing a Nordiques jersey; told her that was a sweater I could definitely NOT get behind.
Habs players represented by fans: Cammalleri, Koivu, Kovalev!, Roy, Huet, Theodore, Price (LOTS of people wearing that one).
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