“At this point of the season,” Carey Price said, “you just play like you got nothing to lose.”
And like Dylan wrote, “when you ain’t got nothin’, you got nothin’ to lose.”
But your Canadiens aren’t in the ain’t-got-nothin’ category. The team has some good young talent, and there are veterans who can help contenders.
In which category would you place Tomas Plekanec?
Coming off his best game of 2012 in Sunday’s win over Winnipeg, Plekanec found himself with new linemates at the opening faceoff against Penguins: Travis Moen and Mathieu Darche.
It was a bit of a pressbox head scratcher, but Randy Cunneyworth’s strategy revealed itself as the first period unfolded. The coach wanted his best defensive centre and two disciplined, physical wingers to contain Pittsburgh’s best line: Evgeni Malkin, James Neal and Chris Kunitz.
Neal scored the Penguins’ second goal. And Plekanec was minus-2 on the game.
But Pleks played 23:54 (eight seconds more than against the Jets), matching Malkin’s 23:34. And he held the Pittsburgh superstar to one shot on goal.
“We played a unit of five against that line,” Mathieu Darche said, alluding to the Pleks line supported by Josh Gorges and P.K. Subban on the back end. “With Sid out, Malkin is the best player in the NHL. He likes to cut across the blueline, and that’s something we tried to take away.”
Mission accomplished. And as an added bonus, P.K. got into Malkin’s grille and under the Russian’s skin at the end of overtime.
“This is why they can’t trade Plekanec,” Patrick V. Hickey said as we looked over the stat sheet. “He held Malkin to one shot.”
Plekanec had six shots – a season high – of his own, but four were on the penalty-kill. He scored the winning goal in the shootout. He has been excellent against Washington and Pittsburgh, and Pleks’s play has doubtless caught the attention of the keen-eyed hockey men who fill the pro scouts’ section of the press gallery at this time of the season.
Maybe Pierre Gauthier is hearing some offers. And maybe packaging Plekanec with an Andrei Kostitsyn could bring something interesting in return.
Trade rumours will continue to swirl – the names you hear are Hal Gill, Travis Moen and Chris Campoli – unless the Canadiens start some sort of miracle run.
Which is still possible. They need about 41 points in their last 28 regular-season games, and 19-6-3 would do it.
If the Canadiens snatch road wins on the Island Thursday and at the ACC Saturday night … hey, start printing up those “You Gotta Believe!” tee-shirts.
At the risk of bumming out certain segments of the Commentariat, I don’t believe.
My fondest hope, as a journalist who is way too much of a fan, is to see the Canadiens play the role of tough-to-beat spoilers and, in the process, learn who is going to be helpful next season.
Like Louis Leblanc.
The kid should sublet his apartment in Hamilton. The effort we saw against Pittsburgh – on a high-energy line with Lars Eller and Rene Bourque – led me to suspect Leblanc has played his last game in the AHL … although he may go down to bolster the Bulldogs in their playoffs once the Canadiens are done.
Cunneyworth praised Leblanc‘s skill and work ethic. The kid is not the most swift-footed or elegant homeboy to ever lace up in Montreal, but Leblanc is smart and surprisingly tough. He is a battler, and he’s going to help the Canadiens for a long time.
As will Price, Subban, Eller, Emelin … the usual suspects.
What’s important – from now until whenever the Canadiens’ season ends – is for the young players to learn how to play with pride and professionalism, regardless of where the team sits in the standings.
The Canadiens must be as they say in baseball, a tough out.
And as Yogi Berra famously said, it ain’t over till it’s over.
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Actually, for those wondering why Pleks was the first star at -2 last night, you could look at the stats for the answer if you knew what you were looking at. The guy who scores the winning goal in OT or the SO is an automatic first star. Looks like alot of people who write on here really don’t pay attention to the game as a whole let alone the Habs. He could also have gotten it for the work he did on the PP, PK and stifling Malkin but that’s not what he got it for.
Just sayin’.
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Nothing would be written at all if a man waited until he could write it so well that no one could find fault with it.
***Habs Forever***
People wondering why Pleks was a star when he had a minus on the game:
(1) You had to watch the game
(2) If you watch the game, you know a lot more about what went on than by just looking at the stats.
Cole didn’t play well last night, seemed to be missing a step though he did have one monster shift where we plastered orpik. I tend to agree with TSN on this one, they could get something HUGE for Cole. I love him and would hate to see him go but…
pipes
Trading Cole is very shortsighted.
He is locked up for 3 more years (2 year of which, I assume is because we wanted him for). We finally have some power forwards. If we trade him, we are almost saying that we don’t want to compete for the next few years (unless there is a nice return… which is not just picks and prospects)
Don’t understand how a guy like Pleks becomes the first star of the game when he led the team with a minus 2 last night?
Tank I say! Tank!
“We will win the Cup one day only with ? in the nets “
Pleks scored the winning goal.
And effectively contained the NHL’s current best player (Malkin) all night by holding him to just one shot.
Wow!
I didn’t know you can be a 1st star of a game if you lead your team in the minus stats for a game.
Guess I should have been 1st star many nights for my men’s hockey team since I lead our team in the minus category as well.
There ought to be a new rule implemented in the NHL for this.
“We will win the Cup one day only with ? in the nets “
Winning goal in overtime or shootout automatically gets first star — at Bell Centre at least. This has been in place since Habs started letting the fans choose the stars. There have been other nights when someone was clearly the top player on the ice but didn’t get first star because someone else scored winner in that situation.
I’ve said forever that Plekanec is a 3rd line center, that’s where his skillset are best utilized and where he’s best fitted, he’s the new Don Marcotte.
Having him as a top 2 center puts way too much pressure on the guy and causes a little girl to emerge when the going gets tough.
So now we have a $5 million 3rd line center, kinda like having a $7 million unproductive 1st line center
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Jack Edwards is a clam, Bruins are pukes.
I’d slot Pleks as a number 2 providing he has wingers that are big and can score such as Max and Cole
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“It’s just an opinion – I could be wrong”
-Dennis Miller
Yesterday I critisized (damn I can’t spell) Darche for his hockey sense and skill set and he then goes out and plays his best game of the season. He was on the right side of the puck all night and was setting picks for Plecks to get open and was around the net. Maybe he read what I said and took it to heart to prove me wrong…ya right and maybe I am a Chinese jet pilot. Alas I can dream.
LL had one hell of a game last night so smart and so creative. Hockey sense is off the charts. He has a lethal snap shot (which he scored his goal with) which he puts about a foot and a half of the ice. Great game by him.
With all the breakaways Pleks gets he should have like 30 goals by now…but he always misses. Meh…still pretty productive otherwise.
Gomez was around the net all night last night. It really shows that he is doing the right things when you get into that scoring slump…go the net and get a dirty one to kick start it. Funny, doesn’t work for me…I have been in a scoring slump for like 20 years.
All things aside I thought it was a good game by everyone in uniform and solid coaching as well.
After the first two periods I was all like “these are Canada’s goalies in Sochi and they were both stellar through 2 periods” Then the goal from Eller burst that bubble. Regardless Price played great and was good inthe shootout.
I think no one is safe in Montreal, the only safe person is Louis Leblanc, otherwise I bet even Markov is on the block now. I would imagine that we will have a repeat of the mistake that a certain New York team made in first signing a Scott Gomez. I bet that with the trade deadline that the habs will throw away all that they have worked so hard to build.
How is Markov on the Block? Who would take him. He hasn’t really played in 2 years.
Your posts make no sense.
Maybe if he actually plays a few games, then he will be on the block.
Still don’t really like the shootout as a way to end a hockey game but I have to admit that was exciting and fun! I think the NHL needs to go back to the old rule on directing the puck into the net with the skate. Sure there was no kicking motion but you should at least have to attempt to get your stick on it. This isn’t soccer.
Anyway, good win, Go Habs! I will always believe et je me souviens.
I hate it. Basketball doesn’t resort to free throws. Baseball doesn’t use a home run derby to determine the outcome of games.
It takes a team game and reduces it to a gimmick.
I can only agree.
Anything that gets the fans out of their seats like the shootout does can’t be wrong…
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“To you from failing hands we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high!”
It’s a good alternative to tie games, and it promotes skill players having a roster spot rather than no-talent checkers and grinders. Overall it has a positive effect on the game.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
I still think Gomez should have been used in the shoot out. He needs the practice.
I thought Gomez and Subban should have been used.
Confidence booster if they score.
Interesting to think where PK would have been on the list, Tom. I guess I am in the minority today as I saw nothing from Gomez last night. Just amazing to see how far he’s fallen.
So I think we all enjoyed Lars Eller’s penalty shot spinorama, but taking Bias out of the equation should the spinorama be allowed in the Penalty Shot/Shootout? Malkin’s move in particular last night appeared to have all momentum stopped going towards the net, he also creates contact with the goalie and then takes the puck across the crease and score.
Good on Malkin for doing the move as long as the league allows it, but in thiniking for next year should this move continue to be allowed? I vote no On Proposition Spinorama.
I have no problem with that play…
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☞ “Talent is a gift from God, but you only succeed with hard work. Yvan was proof of that.” – Jean Beliveau. ☜
No it shouldn’t be allowed in my opinion. Shooter should always have to maintain forward momentum.
From what I understand of the rule, the puck should not be stopped nor drawn back. Both of those things happened, but the refs do not apply the rules. Eller’s Ellercopter move shouldn’t have been allowed, but if you score one that way, we can’t complain if someone else does it.
Rule book says legal play as long as it is a continuous play. Funny thing is that the lacrosse style play is also now legal. I am thinking the rulebook was changed recently.
I watched it closely last night and his momentum didn’t stop it slowed to a crawl but you could clearly see he was still moving forward. I have no problem with that move in the shootout. The shootout is what i hve a problem with. Its a team game and you strip that away to two players (goalie and shooter). Its silly and brainchild of the american leaders of the game to build excitement in the US.
Easy fix would be to forbid contact by the player with the goalie while in the crease. There have been some spinerama moves where the shooter basically interferes with the goalie, and that’s the reason the puck goes in.
I’m not too concerned with the puck going backwards or stopping, that is a rule that should be loosely interpreted to mean that the player can’t start skating backwards for another try if the first attempt isn’t developing as he likes.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Come on now, enough of this politcal correct crap that gets rednecks their day, hockey is hockey. Contact with the goalie is a normal thing even in shimmy hockey.
it is shinny hockey not shimmy…troll
As long a the puck has forward momentum and the shooter doesn’t make contact with the goalie before he can make the save, I have no problem with it.
I second that.
Richard R
It could have been called interference by sticking is ass in Prices face, preventing him from getting across. The spinorama has to go or the rule book needs to change.
Do you think it was coincidence that all 3 Habs shootout goals were scored by just simply shooting the puck where the goalie wasn’t?
I’ve been screaming at the TV all year, to JUST SHOOT THE PUCK!!!
Not coincidental at all. Fleury is deadly when shooters are in close and mediocre otherwise because he guesses so often.
His poke checking is excellent, was frustrating to watch our shooters get in too close and result in no shot. I really think Bourque getting the 1st goal was key momentum for the Habs. How many times this season have we watched our first 2 shooters come up empty shifting all pressure onto our goalie, when in a shootout especially at home with first shot we should have the pressure on the opposing teams goalie.
frustrating indeed…Price has shouldered the blame in the shootouts so far this season but our shooters haven’t given him any help. All too often we have been missing the net or getting stopped. Hard to always come from behind all the time.
I’m sorry but Price is part of the problem. Time to get off the piss pot and see Price for who he really is.
Columbus, Carolina, Montreal all winners of 2 games in a row. There is a seismic shift happening, and Tanks all across North America are imploding!
In the course of an NHL season 1 team will get the 1st over-all pick and another will win the Cup. Every year it happens. Hopefully all the teams behind the Habs win games more often than the Habs do.
Clearly there is collusion going on, all the bottom teams are winning, but not hurting their draft position either. This needs to be investigated. As for the other information, thanks, had no idea every year the Cup was won, as just last year I thought it was given/awarded.
For the life of me I can’t figure out why fans of this team, at this point I want the Habs to win games.
I adore this team, almost everything about it. And as you know first hand, I don’t support a full season half hearted effort with the goal of getting a high pick in mind.
That said, here we are, we’ve been here for a few weeks. Gauthier needs to get a leg up and start sending valuable players to new destinations. Gill, Campoli, Moen and Kostitsyn.
I always cheer for the win, but given grim playoff chances and where the Habs sit in the standings, I don’t worry about the losses as much since they bring the team closer to a high pick.
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“To you from failing hands we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high!”
I bet Carey Price will win just enough like he has since we acquired him, to get us just out of a decent draft position. No the Molsons want those seats filled. Ok fans, stay away the rest of the season, show the Molsons that you will not support the team just being good enough to fill the seats. We want a winner again. Enough is enough.
Full Marks to Price, big saves during game and played well in the shootout.
Full Marks to the PK/Gorges/Plex/Darche and Moen. I don’t think any other player in the league can be more dominant than Malkin with his skill and size and the team controlled him quite well.
The Cole/MaxPac/DD line provided some moments but weren’t as dominant as could be, perhaps Coles (wrist?) is pretty sore. And while I like the idea of Bourque/Eller/AK, that line I thought should have provided more consistent pressure.
Overall entertaining game, usual panic as shootout loomed, only to result in a win!
And Louis Leblanc is going to be a nice player for the Habs for years to come.
I would add Kabrele to your list. Boy, Gill and Gomez are just plain awful but what do I know. My town has no arena. : )
I knew the minute I starting listing players I would leave someone out Jim, I decided not to include the Red Herrings Gomez, Kaberle etc…. We could start a bottle drive and see about getting you an arena!
You guys should move to Montreal. You can’t throw a brick in Montreal without breaking an arena window.
If I could talk the bride into it I would HH. : )
I live within 300 yards of one. The resonance from said shrine tells me you are correct, sir!
“Is there hope?”
My only hope is that #1: Tomas Plekanec is a Hab until he is no longer an effective player in the NHL (2020 or so) and #2: Scott Gomez’s ice time continues to decline (to zero) and he never sees another PP so long as he wears the “sacred cloth”.
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Nothing would be written at all if a man waited until he could write it so well that no one could find fault with it.
***Habs Forever***
Even if the Habs go on a miracle run, they need to make some changes. I am not sure that I would be so quick to trade Moen, but Gill, Campoli, Kaberle, and Nokelainen, yes! I think the Habs need to make the run with the young players and see how they do. Making a miracle run and giving false hope is not in their best ineterest. Sure, it means more money for the team if they play a couple of home play off games, but does it make them more competative for the future…no!!
They have a log jam at centre and someone needs to go. The most marketble player at the deadline that would bring the biggest return is Plakanec and as much as I respect him as a player and he is a Montreal draft pick, packaging him and Kostitsyn for a power forward would better serve the team in the long run. Weber can also be used in a trade. LeBlanc will be ready for next season the way he is playing and so will Gallagher. Desharnais and Eller have made great strides and have upside, Plekanec has peaked. Gomez, well, enough has been said and Gionta, as big as he plays, should be moved, maybe back to Jersey!
Habfan17
The only way trading Pleks makes sense is if the Habs get a 1st line centre back: Pleks, AK, and a pick for Getzlaf?
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“To you from failing hands we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high!”
So what’s our magic number this morning?
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Dear Mtl Canadiens,
Please beat Boston to tie the season series. You are about to cost me three bottles of rum in a little over a year.
Love,
Michael
According to Boone, 19Ws and 3OTLs = 8th place.
Therefore, 35 wins to glory, everyone. Remember to forget you read it here at all, okay?
I like PK Subban, in fact hes on my profile as one of my favourite players, but at the same time, he strikes me as a very irritating human being. Nothing wrong with roughing it up, but when you purposely collapse before a player gets to you, well, someday, someone is really going to make him eat his lunch Im afraid.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
He needs to learn how to fight properly so he doesnt have to dive out of tussles. Did you also see his last fight against that guy for WPG? They were both shaking their gloves agreeing to fight then PK throws his off and grabs the guy and starts throwing down before he even gets to drop his gloves. I mean it aint like a mutual agreement and respect like Mike Rupp or, dare I say, Shawn Thornton would.
Heads up, P.K.’s hip is coming.
Or he could just hit like Emelin, I mean PK can throw some decent body checks as well. Its like PK is trying to be every type of player all at once (agitator, offensive, physical, defensive).
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
Im more than happy for him to be every type of player (except agitator) as I believe he has the skills and potential too do so. The only thing in his way of that is maturity and experience.
Heads up, P.K.’s hip is coming.
Does “he needs to learn how to fight properly” translate to”grow a pair” or “develop the semblance of a spine”?
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What does the Commissioner of the NHL do?
In short, a league commissioner is the action man for the Board of Governors.
They tell him what they want done and he works to make it happen through his subordinates while making sure that individual franchises play by the rules.
******** Translated if you haven’t won the Stanley Cup in 40 years your NHL team is becoming irrelevant in a sports mad city long behind MLB, NFL and NBA teams, you just tell the commissioner(who you gave a new contract at 7 plus million per) to make it happen and the rules are bent sufficiently to action the command.
He needs to get coaching lessons from Floyd Mayweather.
Heads up, P.K.’s hip is coming.
1) Wheres Diaz, is he injured? Or is RC showcasing Campoli and Weber for trades?
2) To all you guys wanting MTL to tank, burn your jerseys now and start following another club, because the pride and honor of the red-white and blue should never go into a game with that mindset. Purposely playing with no balls to increase our chance of a top 5 draft pick is bad karma in my opinion. If it aint meant to be it aint meant to be.
3) It was only 2 seasons ago we snatched 8th spot and knocked out WSH and PIT and made it to the EAST conference finals. Anything can happen.
We did beat the #1 team in the NHL not so long ago. Im also seeing Columbus beating teams they should very well lose to. As with the Isalnders.
Anything can happen. It aint over till its over.
Heads up, P.K.’s hip is coming.
This being the video age, I dont see any reason is showcasing a player. Its not like there isnt any footage.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
“To all you guys wanting MTL to tank, burn your jerseys now…”
Especially those Yakupov jerseys.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Its bad karma man. I dont want to be in the same sentence as Colombus or Edmonton.
Heads up, P.K.’s hip is coming.
How about Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Stanley?
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
If Montreal was in the same division as Columbus they’d be in the same sentence. Edmonton has the potential to be a power house in a few years. I still hope the Habs finish in the draft lottery but figure they will end up 18th-22nd.
Face it. The Habs average since 1994 and even in the past 10 years is 16th over-all. This season is a wash.
Just for the record. Tanking means doing poorly, not throwing games. Some people need to get their heads out of their asses.
All this talk about pride and integrity is a load of garbage. The Habs have accomplished nothing being middle of the packk other than being middle of the pack.
Time to cut losses and play for fun. No pressure. Win or lose. The higher the draft pick the better. However if the Habs were really smart they’d make a trade or two that brings them another first rounder and use those picks to move up in the draft.
Habs fans should not be chided for wanting a high draft pick. Some people sound a little too uptight with their moral stance.
Am I embarrassed to be a Habs fan? No! But I am embarrassed by many Habs fans,
I still maintain that the word “tanking” carries a negative connotation of voluntarily losing matches, of throwing games. You think others are being hard-headed, but you may be so as well. There is a reason some people react so negatively to the concept of tanking.
From Wikipedia:
“When a team intentionally loses a game, or does not score as high as it can, to obtain a perceived future competitive advantage (for instance, earning a high draft pick) rather than gamblers being involved, the team is often said to have tanked the game instead of having thrown it.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match_fixing
You should trademark another word that means preparing for the future, and not taking decisions for the short-term, a more neutral word that doesn’t raise hackles. I still think all we need to say is let’s sell as the deadline approaches, all that implies is trading in veterans for prospects and picks.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
…..
Leblanc bolstering Hamilton in the playoffs?
Boone, I don’t know where you’ve been, but the Bulldogs are nearly as hopeless and bad in the AHL as Montreal is, one of the worst teams, there will be no playoffs, except in Wheeling. Gomez would fit nicely on their 2nd line I’m sure.
Yeah, the situation in Hamilton is also grim. I wonder what it’ll be like next season. Off the top of my head, we’ll have Brendan Gallagher, Danny Kristo, Michaël Bournival, Steve Quailer, Jared Tinordi, Nathan Beaulieu, Morgan Ellis, plus a few more prospects ready to play their first season in the AHL. Anybody out there know what that would do for the team? An influx of talent, but a very young squad, how does that pan out usually?
We can hope that we get a wave of youngsters ready to move up fairly soon, like when the Sherbrooke Canadiens won the Calder Cup, and players like Patrick Roy, Brian Skrudland and Mike Lalor quickly moved up to the big club.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Price can help them again, since he can’t seem to win much in Montreal these days send Gomez and Price down perhaps…..
That was a very entertaining game!
Loved the fight in the team and specifically from one Thomas Plekanec. He was full value tonight and did a great job in containing the League’s best player… with a little help from his pal PK (who also played his finest game of the year…)
Too little to late? Yep. But full marks for the effort.
Price and our D-man blew another lead. Where are all the Price fans out there who think he’s God’s Gift to Netminding? If Price was this we would have won a cup by now. Mind you having a defensive corps that comes out of a freak farm, too tall with too stringy with big mouth Subban and the invisible man Markov….At least Price finally won a shoot out….and we won. We would have won if Price and the d-men hung on to our lead. So much for dressing seven d-men. If you can’t protect a lead with seven d-men it’s kind of really sad.
OK, I voted for tanking. If we are going to tank, I am not going to watch another game. I cannot watch and hope someone is going to score on Carey or hope that we don’t score. It just isn’t in my being as a Habs fan. I will wait until the game is over and read the results and read posts on this site, which are very informative and for the most part worthy. But, I cannot watch the Habs play and hope they lose. BTW, I might just buy my “You Gotta Believe” t-shirt.
That’s the truth, you can’t tell a man to lose on purpose. You can try and build a team like that (Major League), but you can’t tell them that. I have no idea what kind of men are like that, but you can guarantee one thing and one thing only, you don’t want them around when the going gets tough.
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com Inc.
Custom Sports Figures
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
Would Price finally shine at the wrong time? Win all of the games just to finish in 9th spot. Typical Carey.
Everyone can make fun of Gomez because his lack of goal production last year and especially this year.
Last year, Gomez made about a million dollars a goal.
This year, he’s making about a million dollars an assist.
Those numbers aren’t fair, so I’ve decided to base Gomez’s production based on dollars earned per faceoff won this season. As it is so far, Gomez has made about $5000000 and won over 106 faceoffs (with one of those even being shorthanded). This equates to just under $50000 for every faceoff won, which is about $10000 more than the average Canadian makes in a year.
An any rate, Gomez making $50000 for every faceoff won certainly sounds better than making $1000000 for every assist. So Hab fans, next time your buddies are laughing at you because of Gomez futility, you can simply point out that Gomez won four or five faceoffs the night before and actually earned his pay… uh, right?
Hey, who’s answering ‘yes’ to being embarrassed to be a Canadiens fan? C’mon, people, big picture here! Fairweather fans are for the New England Patriots.
EDIT: Not sure why this posted as a reply to Matt Jordan’s humorous turd-polishing post up there but it is what it is.
Definitely not embarrassed & never will be. however, it’s been very frustrating being a fan this year especially when Leafs fans feel sorry for us.
No hope, Boone? Correction: 8.6% hope.
http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL.html
Nice for the Habs to get a shootout win… finally; they actually managed to score a few times in the shootout.
Watched a talk posted on TSN’s website about Habs trade possibilities. And of all people, they decide to focus on Cole. Cole. His NTC notwithstanding, to even discuss trading a guy who evidently wanted to play in Mtl and has given the best consistent effort every night in this miserable season and is the team’s top player in terms of scoring is pretty classless. To be fair, it was that Marinaro fellow who seemed most keen to shop him around… he also seemed to be in favour of the Habs tanking badly like Chicago, Pittsburg and Edmonton, which is ridiculous. The Habs don’t need a complete overhaul because of a single bad season. They actually have a pretty good amount of young core players – there is absolutely no point in tanking so bad so as to get another young core. What a frustrating opinion.
No surprise here, TSN is clueless…
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“To you from failing hands we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high!”
Not sure why, but I can’t post my game recap. It didn’t post the first time, and when I tried again, I got a message that I was trying to post the same thing twice. It can be found by clicking on the link below.
Also, Mr. Boone, Renee Bourque would be the name of a young lady. He spells it René Bourque.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Boone is fed up with you out-About Last Night-ing him.
Flabbergasted that I’d get blocked before you did….
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Boone still needs my comments to plagiarize.
He needs ideas and I got’em.
Timo, this one is for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGaaLssAczA
Boone borrowed a page from TSN – Gionta and Cammi in the shot. Nice.
I am surprised it wasn’t a photo with SergeiK and Grabovksi in it.
You said it best Boone. The young players must learn to play with pride & professionalism. Too bad some veterans missed the boat on that.
I would venture to say that those veterans have played with pride and enthusiasm when they were young kids trying to make it in this league. Then they made it… signed big fat contract and became Scott Gomez.
Timo, you always make my day with your posts.
Yeah, he played with pride and enthusiasm back when Ali G was still relevant.
Anyone have a link or clip of Subban owning Malkin at the end of OT?
Owning Malkin? It was a classless and stupid play by Subban.
__________________________
☞ “Talent is a gift from God, but you only succeed with hard work. Yvan was proof of that.” – Jean Beliveau. ☜
http://www.celebrations-gomez.com/en/
Alright, let’s call it a mugging.
Richard R
Woohoo! first poster!
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“Talent is a gift from God, but you only succeed with hard work. Yvan was proof of that.”
- Jean Beliveau
Not now….
He said first not last. You guys need to get to bed earlier.
I’m sorry after the lockout and the rebuild, my support for Carey Price has gone, evaporated this year, with so many soft losses and the reason why we are where we are, one name says it all: CAREY PRICE!!!!!!!
If I was Pierre Gauthier and had a second look at Bob Gainey’s answer to Ken Dryden, I would have to say, the rest of Bob Gainey’s rebuild gave us a small team that knows how to compete just enough to lose.
I say it is time to trade Price while his value is still high. Only Price can throw away a good international game or an All Star game. Price has shown he does not have the final competitive spirit that takes you through three periods. He has enough competitive spirit for five minutes of a 60 minute hockey game. If Price was so hot he would shine in the shoot out.
I say trade Price while his value is quite high.
Wow… if you’re saying that Price is the reason that this team is on the outside looking in.
So I’m guessing that you missed last night’s shootout, where he out-dueled their #1 pick. And you’re not going to win many shootouts if your team snipes a lousy 4-for-27 going into last night.
I agree it was a mistake to put all their eggs in Price’s basket back in ’08 when they won the East.
He wasn’t ready for primetime and Gainey was looking for a saviour a la Roy/Dryden.
Would have been better to keep Huet in ‘ 08 and then tandem Halak and Price for as long as possible as 1 and 1A.
They were RFA’s and weren’t going anywhere.
______________________________________________________
“It’s just an opinion – I could be wrong”
-Dennis Miller
WHOA!
You have never been a Carey Price supporter and and this guy here knows it
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com Inc.
Custom Sports Figures
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
Go Habs Go!!
Who taught the idiot how to use a computer?
Seriously… blaming Price?
They are 10th in 5-5 Goals for/goals against but 19th in Goal/per game…. hmmmm
1st in PK… hmmmm
12th in GA per game
and 6th in SAVES per game.
So, what have we learned here kids?
The Montreal Canadiens are one of the better teams in preventing goals. Is this because they have the best D in the league…
This is the same D corps that has or had Campoli, Kaberle, Emelin (who is learning), Weber (who was banned from D), Gill (who can be a liability when not on the PK), PK (who knows which PK is on the ice), and Diaz (who is learning).
Sooo, clearly it is not the best D in the league… but they still have decent stats…. hmmmm, what position am I forgetting????
Also, if they are decent in the defensive statistics, why is it that they lose and lose often….. it can’t be the offense? I mean, they average just over 2 goals a game. That is enough right? and a PP which is 30th overall must also be the result of poor goaltending??? right???
I forget who posted it, but someone went back and listed all the losses where Montreal only scored 1 goal, and there were a lot.
So… good on you for bashing Price and letting the offense off the hook. You, sir, have just been crowned Idiot of the Day.
No trouble agreeing with you nuna.
Price falls asleep in just about every game. He also plays deep in the net most of the time and why let that PASS drift across his crease to be deflected for a goal. Why didn’t he act to smother it? After all he was on his knees as he is too often. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ, oops!
Price is both unbelievably excellent and unbelievably terrible in just about every game. Is that the goalie we need?
Trade while he’s worth a bundle and before he costs the salary cap a bundle.
Taberwitt
Clueless!!!!
Where were you early in the year when Price struggled and still continues to struggle with keeping a win? How many losses have we seen where Price has blown the lead like tonite?
I agree completely. Halak would have been a natural with the signings of Cole etc. The only problem is Gauthier seemed to follow Gainey in going after fast skating D-men in the template of Markov. There are many small d-men out there. There are not that many talented small d-men who fit the Markov template. If the habs had decided to get decent defense instead of going after scoring d-men, and the formula which Gainey spoke of and which Gauthier alluded to, where Price saves all the shots and we win by one or two goals. Enough of that.
We need a real NHL team. Enough of this rebuild and building around Carey Price. Build around scoring, and actually defending. Not on this crazy concept of hoping your goalie stops all the shots and you win. Price has shown he does not have it in him.
Agree completely.
Richard R
The inability to hold a lead has even more to do with the play of the rest of the team than it does the goalie.
Idiot of the Day!!!
Idiot is to tame for this troll. I don’t think that he even watched one game.
Idiot of the Day!
I am not sure how “building around Price” is hurting the team. He doesn’t make a lot of money. Therefore, there is lots of money to go buy goal scorers (but guess what? they either don’t exist or don’t come to Montreal)
That’s right.
Richard R
nunacanadien and strummer are have obviously been dropped on their collective heads and are still pining away for Halak to come back.
Troll
I troll for trout, not carp.
Taberwitt