Thursday, December 17, 2009

Done with the Devils

New policy:

From now on, I will waste no further time watching any games in which New Jersey is playing.

The games are boring as shit, and the Canadiens usually wind up losing anyway.

So let it be written, so shall it be done.

Done with the Devils.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Memo to the CBC:

Next time, try using a cameraman who's a little worse, eh? Even though it looked like the guy you got to work the main camera looked like an 80 year-old man with Parkinson's who had never watched a hockey game in his life, I still managed to see SOME of the actual on-ice play last night.

While the camera work was certainly on the same level as Bob Cole's lack of any cogent thought process, you could do a better job in making your showcase Saturday night broadcasts completely unwatchable. Work on it.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Congratulations to Chris Lee

Congrats, Chris, on winning the game against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. You made sure the Habs would not win, and you are to be commended.

Of course, you do not play for the Penguins, and were in fact supposed to be be an unbiased, objective referee. At this, you failed fucking horribly. So there's that to consider too.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Ryan White rides the rollercoaster

Nice job, Bob.
First you send him down, then call him back up, forget to tell the league (incompetence), then send him back down again.

And this most recent demotion after seeing him act like a damn general out there on the ice against Ottawa. I saw him take control and direct a perfect breakout.
Now, those who know me might suspect I have some sort of bias. While that may be so, the kid really is that good.

So what does Bob do? Send him down, of course!

Awful, incompetent managing.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Kovy!

We may love ya here at KK/BB, but,
Go Habs Go.

Martin Brodeur

Bride of Kovalev and I were playing a game where we went through every NHL team, and for each one, I had to come up with one player I would get a jersey with. That is, when she said Philadelphia I was obligated to come up with "Jeremy Roenick." Vancouver? Trevor Linden.
(The Islanders were a tough call, blech.)

Of course, it would be Brodeur if I HAD to get a jersey from the Devils. You have to respect him, BoK said.

Now that he has tied Terry Sawchuk's shutout record, we are obligated to respect him that much more, however much we hate to do so.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Bruins-Habs post-game

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.

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

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.

***