Absolutely everything about the Montreal Canadiens

Thursday 17 May 2012

Liveblog: 3-3 tie goes to Shootout L

Cole against Bruins

Sensational comeback by the Canadiens in the third period.

But a scary OT.

Shootout

Bourque: Save

Krejci: POST!

Pacioretty: Great move, but saved

Seguin: Goal

Eller: Save

1,103 Comments

  1. Shane1313 says:

    Well, that was fun.

    Couple notes..
    Emelin is 4th in the league in hits by a d-man? if so..nice
    Diaz is up there is rookie defenseman scoring
    Pac on pace for over 30 goals, becoming the top guy. And you see his stats since January!! On par with Mailkin!
    Cole.

    Physical, hard fought game. It’s great to see a a game like that. We’ve been very good of late. Oh yeah, ease up on AK!!

  2. punkster says:

    Just got back and haven’t read any posts. Watched the game at Hurley’s with good friends, knowledgeable Habs fans each and every one.

    What I saw was their best game of the season, a solid, physical effort with no letup. The game hinged on two plays; the incredibly outrageous call on the Cole goaltender interference penalty and the surprising Bergeron goal that resulted from it.

    Other thoughts:

    Marchand, though he will get another suspension for the low bridge on Emelin, then for his attempted low bridge on Subban, should be taught a lesson by someone, anyone, and made to suffer as a result. No penalty or suspension is severe enough. Let your imagination work on that.

    I don’t get the whole love for RC at this point, particularly the way he handled Eller again tonight. As my friend pointed out, Eller takes a 4 minute high stickinging call, gets benched for the rest of the game (5:48 TOI) then is handed the final attempt on the SO? This is not good coaching.

    Man, we suck at the SO almost as much as we suck on the PP…and we certainly suck on the PP. Pathetic!

    There are very few passengers on the Habs bus. There are a few less than satisfactory players but that can be fixed in the coming weeks, months and over the summer.

    It’s gonna be great.

    ***Subbang Baby!!!***

  3. Stephen York says:

    Despite the shootout loss, this was an awesome game. The Habs dominating the big, bad Gooins physically? PK going deep into the offensive zone for the first time this season, resulting in a short handed goal? Habs overcoming a two goal deficit in the 3rd vs a team that is 25-0-0 when leading by two after two periods? Plek nailing Chara in the kisser with a slapshot?
    Now for the negatives:
    Gill brainfarting (being Gill) on the first goal.
    Gomez on PP and PK, on top of his regular shift?
    Bullshit reffing – obsession with protecting Thomas (who routinely plays 3 feet out of his crease).
    Campoli pyloned by that dud Pouliot.
    Marchand’s clip on Emelin – who wants to bet he won’t be disciplined by SHAMahan?
    Price soft again in the shootout, Bourque not a great choice vs. a goalie like Thomas who challenges shooters.
    Eller benched after an accidental (and questionable) penalty? Give him ALL of Gomez’s minutes, PLEASE.

  4. H.Upmann says:

    A few years ago we were cringing with Brisebois, Souray etc… Feels like were back at square ONE with Campoli and Kaberle, McDonagh etc etc etc. If these pricks trade away Beaulieu and/or Tinordi for anything this deadline, it’ll be a cruel joke of deja-vu again. We havevsome great players etc, just need to get rid of the anomaly and soft D. Enjoyed the comeback lead by the DD line

  5. Chuck says:

    We complain about the shootout, but in this league it’s the difference between an elite team and a bottom-feeder. If the Habs and Bruins switched shootout rwcords, thats a 10-win swing in the standings. We have the 5th worst shooting percentage and the 6th worst save percentage. Those simply HAVE to improve next season; throwing away those points isnt an option when teams are so evenly matched. Key on 4-5 guys on the team and make it their specialty.

    Ironically, a lot of the shootout ills could be mitigated with a more potent powerplay. Get that addressed for next season, pop in some more goals, and you’ll win more games outright and not have to rely on shootouts to get your wins.

    And for gods sake, shoot the puck. Hit your spot from 10 feet outand thw goalie doesn’t have time to react. Too much can go wrong if you rely on trying to deke all the time.

  6. DickandDanny says:

    Couple things. Price has to DO something in the shootout. He just stood there frozen against Seguin. If a showdown is partly a guessing game then try and out guess the shooter. We all know Carrie’s weaknesses, low stick, five hole, and high glove. I would hazard a guess those are the same for every goalie in the league. So, why can’t we snipe Thomas, who is much smaller than Price is, the same way? Makes no sense. Pull em and put in Budaj for shootouts if nothing else works cuz he can’t handle the SO. As for the rest, well Gill was horrid tonight. I’m a big fan of his, but he really isn’t playing well. Nice screen on the first goal after giving the puck away to start it all. Drop and block the shot, at least, to make up for your huge gaf. Nope, he just stands there screening Price. Eller, AK, and Leblanc couldn’t hold the puck on their stick tonight if it was glued there. So many give aways. Point was nice to get, but where are the emerging heroes we all want to see who can win the big one. Also, good post regarding Eller’s penalty for huigh sticking. Second time I saw it looked worse, but the ref only gets one look and well we all know how fast they were to call a penalty against the red team tonight. Boy, it was nice to see Cunneyworth give it to the ref after the Cole call. Been missing that for a few years. I can’t stand that one guy that was making all those calls, he always has it in for Montreal it seems. Arrogant A-hole.

    \”A cannonading blast from the wing, by Lafleur\”

  7. twilighthours says:

    This team would be a lot better if it didn’t have to give minutes to campoli, kaberle, and (sadly) gill.

  8. nova scotia vees says:

    I can’t understand how people making such inflated salaries have the gall to float around the ice. Can the lot of them and play only those who work hard. And, we will NEVER win anything with Carey Price in nets. Does not compete hard enough every night…can’t stop anyone one on one. Tonight….2 shooters…one hits the post and the other scores. For heaven’s sake Carey battle like so many other truly great goalies. Bergeron could never have scored from there on most other NHL goalies. Come out and cut down the angle and STOP dropping to your knees all the freakin time. And yes..Price lovers…I am picking on your man again. Not everyone has drunk the cool-aid.

  9. showey47 says:

    I think darche scores us a decent pick at the deadline.

  10. RiverviewCanadien says:

    I am still fuming over the bush league reffing tonight. AK46 gets an interference call, but PK lays a hit, then Campbell? hits PK when the puck is on the other side of the ice! NO (frankin) call!

    Emelin gets hit late by Thornton, ’cause he is a baby from an earlier clean hit (which Shawn could not do against Emelin), no call.

    Why the #%@$ aren’t more refs fired for (frank) sake! They are the reason the Habs lost. The Habs played a great game, but were F’d over by the F’n refs!

    Loved how right after the hit by Thornton, Emelin says “I got my eyes on you”. What a gem he is.

    F’n refs, F’n Bettman, F’n Jeremy Jacobs and F’n Bruins!

    FACK the NHL!

    • Marc10 says:

      I believe the ref in question was fired by the NHL but his union backed him in a lawsuit in Ontario and he was re-instated.

      Those two non-calls were b-r-u-t-a-l. If it’s the other way around, there’s no way we get away with it. No way! But we know that’s going to happen. The best recipe against that is to do what PK, Yemmy and White did. Go after the bastards and just keep going.

      If we’re going down, we’ll take a couple of them with us.

    • Chris says:

      To be fair, the interference penalty called on Boychuk for what appeared to me to be a perfectly legal check was equally bush league. The calls went both ways.

  11. habs001 says:

    Price 23 shot out chances and 11 goals given up…in hockey that is just a horrific %

  12. boing007 says:

    Eliminate the shootout. Do away with the shootout. Abolish the shootout. A rotten way to win, or lose.

    Richard R

  13. showey47 says:

    60.1 High-sticking – A “high stick” is one which is carried above the height of the opponent’s shoulders. Players and goalkeepers must be in control and responsible for their stick. “However, a player is permitted accidental contact on an opponent if the act is committed as a normal windup or follow through of a shooting motion”. A wild swing at a bouncing puck would not be considered a normal windup or follow through and any contact to an opponent above the height of the shoulders shall be penalized accordingly.

    Would ellers penalty not be considered accidental contact on a follow through? He fanned on a puck he was trying to shoot in.

  14. remi_10069 says:

    Ak needs to be traded NOW…he was the worst player on the ice.

    Emelin is a stud. Cole is ridiculous, every game a dirty goal.

    Darche played well but he’s playing too much.

    RC f’d up on the shootout. Like RB, didn’t like MP but he had TT beat, eller was a bad call. Can’t go wrong with cole, why risk it.

    pipes

  15. habs001 says:

    This team still needs a lot of work…one of the worst pp in the league….one of the worst records at home in the league…bruins 23-0 leading after 2…we fold with leads in the third…we keep losing to teams that played on the road the night before while we were off…ak46 does not show up for big games..it is time to move on with him…no effort no intensity..cannot win with this player in the clutch…while we cannot score in a shot out price save% in the shutout must be one of the worst since the so started..

    • AH says:

      Great post, especially about AK…we really need to cut this guy loose, yes he has flashes of talent, but that’s all they are, flashes. We need players who bring it every night, not once every two weeks!

  16. otter649 says:

    Subban to Darche goal – Gives one a 1979 flashback
    Tremblay to Lambert in OT……

    • Strummer says:

      It was 1978 the Don Cherry “too many men ” game

      ______________________________________________________
      “It’s just an opinion – I could be wrong”
      -Dennis Miller

  17. Psycho29 says:

    Great game tonight, our boys played well….great intensity…

    To all those who said “The Bruins will crush the Habs tonight”…..Well it wasn’t that bad. We got a point in a game you said the team didn’t have a chance in. The B’s certainly didn’t dominate.

  18. EricInStL says:

    Is it me or did Eller not see any time in the OT ? If so why put him in the shootout when he’s cold ?

    • Marc10 says:

      Apparently he’s the best in shootouts during practices.

      • jo_maka says:

        Well the kid is great, no doubt about it.

        But he’s been benched after a penalty resulting from an accident. He fanned on a shoot, big effin deal !!!! And then, he’s relied on to win the shootout. Now that’s dumber than his infamous penalty. Cole should have been the 3rd shooter.

        But above all, accountability or not, the Eller benching tonight is just straight up dumb.
        _________________________________
        Open-mindedness is not a skull fracture

    • jedimyrmidon says:

      Yeah, Eller did not look happy at all. Doesn’t seem like a good idea to bench a guy for about 2 periods (even though his penalty was not a good one) then send him out to win the game.

  19. jedimyrmidon says:

    While each loss and OT loss further diminishes the Canadiens’ already dim playoff hopes, I’m of the opinion that if there’s any season where they “shouldn’t” make it then it should be this season as there is opportunity to trade away some players that should be traded and things have been going wrong consistently (many things that are not exactly in the players’ hands), meaning that now is a good time to get a good draft pick.

    • Marc10 says:

      It’s a good draft year apparently…

      It’s up to the coach to turn the keys over to Cole and the kids. It’s their team now. Passengers can stand aside and by all means… let’s ship the guys that are not going to be there.

      I don’t mind losing if the effort is there. It’s about next year from here on in.

  20. The Gonk says:

    Habs management hopefully gets some guts and a vision long term. And the future isn’t that far off with some relative patience, not next year, but in 2013-14 with a fresher defensive core with the likes of Tinordi, Beaulieu and Ellis in the mix. Gallagher and Bournival in a year or two with a top-end talent in the top 5 drafted this year would be good blocks to add. Let’s see what unfolds next week and in June.

  21. SmartDog says:

    A great game except for a few weak spots.
    Coupla thoughts…:
    - PATCHES: His one-timer is a thing of beauty to us and a death ray to our enemies… zap!!
    - COLE: Nice goal, such calm. Most others woulda lost it in the pads.
    - GILL: Hey Gill, NEWSFLASH! – you make a better door than a window! That goal was ALL on Gill from give-away to screen. You think he’d know better.
    - BOURQUE: Was he playing tonight? Next time someone should let him know.
    - PLEKS: I can’t see Pleks picking it up with Darche (who admitedly is playing well but isn’t a top 6 forward) and Bourque (zzzzzz) on his line. :(
    - SUBY – Great game. The old suby-doo is BLACK! I mean BACK!
    - WHITE – What a guy. Great to have him black too!
    - EMELIN – Great hits. Next time Marchand turtles on a check, just drive your knees into his face.
    AND FINALLY….
    - How about some SHOOT-OUT PRACTICE!!! We’d be in the playoff hunt if our guys could freakin’ score. There’s NO-ONE to count on. No-one. It’s ridiculous.
    ————————————-
    Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!

  22. TheKarl says:

    Does nobody on this team understand the correlation between speed and scoring with penalty shots??!?!?!?!

    Every one, EVERY ONE knew Eller was gonna miss that shot before he even crossed the blue line….. What happened to the good old days when Koivu and Kovalev would just race down the ice at 50 clicks, pull one move and score?? Unless your name is Datsyuk you need to skate faster than a friggin sloth.

    I am so tired of losing in a shootout, goddammit.


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