Scores and Standings 4/23

Well that was fun, wasn't it?
I have several thoughts going through my head. One is, Montreal fans are asses. Not all of them, but a good enough number to make me very sad. Jack Edwards, in a rare fit of accuracy and acumen, called it a "Patrick Roy moment" when Carey Price, jeered by fans for making a save on a 90-foot shot, raised his arms in mock salute to the braying (m)asses. Granted, Price could have played better, but he also could have played a lot worse. What made me even sadder was the treatment the fans gave the team when the game was over. I was touched, as I was last season, by the Habs all gathering at center ice to raise their sticks to salute the fans. There were lots of cheers, but I also heard a smattering of boos. Boos. To a team that is trying to acknowledge its fans. Simply awful.

I also would like to point out to Dave Stubbs that if the Habs are indeed victims of "absurd expectations," then it is Bob Gainey who is to blame, since he stated very clearly that he was going to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup in 2009. Gainey set those expectations, Mr. Stubbs, and the fans believed him. The fans waited patiently when the veteran goaltender was dealt last season, and no one else was brought in, because, hey, we believed Gainey knew what he was doing. And after all, it was the 2009 season that we would make the Cup run, not 2008. Then, in that promised year, Gainey failed to bring in marquee additions at the deadline. He failed to rectify the horrible coaching that was happening. Bob Gainey defaulted on his promise, on the expectations that HE set. So don't tell me that our expectations were "absurd," Mr. Stubbs, when it was the team's own GM who told us exactly what expectations to have.

I don't feel like getting into the free agent discussion now, since there will be plenty of time for that later. Suffice to say that I am extremely sad today, knowing that Saku Koivu and Alexei Kovalev may very well have played their last games for Montreal.



1) Bride of Kovalev: 45 (43)
Marian Hossa (F, Det)
Henrik Zetterberg (F, Det)
Evgeni Malkin (F, Pit)
Dennis Wideman (D, Bos) A,W=2
Dan Boyle (D, SJ)
Martin Brodeur (G, NJ)


2) Geoff: 41 (39)
Johan Franzen (F, Det)
Marc Savard (F, Bos) W=1
Bill Guerin (F, Pit)
Niklas Lidstrom (D, Det)
Zdeno Chara (D, Bos) W=1
JS Giguere (G, Ana)


3) Derek: 37 (31)
Alex Ovechkin (F, Was) G=2
Sidney Crosby (F, Pit)
Mark Recchi (F, Bos) W=1
Dion Phaneuf (D, Cal) A,W=2
Scott Niedermayer (D, Ana)
Tim Thomas (G, Bos) W=1


4) P-Stone: 31 (31)
Pavel Datsyuk (F, Det)
Joe Thornton (F, SJ)
Zach Parise (F, NJ)
Brian Rafalski (D, Det)
Niklas Kronwall (D, Det)
Evgeni Nabokov (G, SJ)


5) Number 31: 30 (30)
Alex Kovalev (F, Mon)
Chris Kunitz (F, Pit)
Jonathan Toews (F, Chi) 0
Sergei Gonchar (D, Pit)
Mike Green (D, Was) 0
Nicolai Khabibulin (G, Chi) 0