Montreal 1 Philadelphia 0 (Wachovia Center)
“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.” – Mahatma Gandhi
If you are anything like me, you weren’t in a celebratory mood after tonight’s win by the Canadiens. Make no mistake, picking up two points against the Flyers in their own building was huge. The Habs are now in sixth place with four games remaining.
But Gandhi is correct. Watching a game, in which most of the team, excluding the goaltender, gave much less than a “full effort”, left most fans far from satisfied.
This game was very similar to Wednesday night’s contest with the Carolina Hurricanes.
In both games, the Canadiens scored only one goal, and it came before the ten minute mark of the first period. What then? It appears that the plan was simply to hold on. The Habs should consider themselves fortunate that the strategy actually worked 50 per cent of the time.
Such an approach exposes the complete array of team weaknesses. And it hangs the goaltenders out to dry.
In both games, Habs goalies were the best players on their team. Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak stood on their heads particularly in the 3rd periods to keep the Canadiens in the two games.
Two games. Two phenomenal third period performances. Respectively, Price made 16 saves and Halak made 14 saves in the final frames.
Kudos to both of them! But if Habs fans can suspend their obsessive focus on goaltenders for a moment, they may be horrified that a season-long funk to score even-strength goals shows no sign of improving. The Canadiens are dead last in the NHL in 5-on-5 scoring.
The Canadiens managed only three shots on goal in the third period tonight. This pathetic effort was against goaltender Brian Boucher, who has only one win in his last seven starts, and the Flyers, who have lost seven of their last eight games.
Boucher was giving up rebounds galore in the first period, but the Canadiens couldn’t get second shot opportunities. In the third period, they weren’t getting first shots.
In addition, the once-vaunted Habs’ power-play is a dud. So much for the instant fix (predicted by other analysts) that Mike Cammalleri and Marc-Andre Bergeron were supposed to provide when they returned from injury.
Starting the third period tonight, the Canadiens had 90 seconds on the power-play to score and extend their lead. They didn’t get a shot on goal, and gave the Flyers the momentum to mount a dominating third period attack.
It is incumbent on the Habs’ coaching staff to fix the power-play and change the game plan to prepare for the playoffs.
In addition, there are players who are struggling mightily. Chris Pronger effectively neutralized Cammalleri tonight. Cammalleri hasn’t scored in five game since his return.
Hal Gill was getting turned in knots by Flyers’ forwards.
Benoit Pouliot has lost his way.
Marc-Andre Bergeron was a disaster playing defense. Bergeron filled in for Jaroslav Spacek, who was scratched due to illness. The substitution allowed us to see proof positive that RDS’ Norman Fynn is delusional when he says that Bergeron is a better defenseman than Spacek.
Besides the shutout performance of Halak, on the positive side of the ledger, Tomas Plekanec had his usual strong game at both ends of the ice.
Defending the Flyers big forwards was an ideal showcase for the value of Ryan O’Byrne. He had a superb game.
Andrei Kostitsyn made a great play along the boards to muscle the puck away from the Flyers defender and set up Plekanec for the Canadiens’ goal.
Ben Maxwell had one of his better games with the big club. He and his linemates, Mathieu Darche and Max Lapierre put in solid shifts when called upon.
It is amusing to me when broadcasters talk about Lapierre getting under the skin/into the heads of the opposition. Is there anyone in the league that fears him? Lapierre can be effective when he uses his speed and is physical.
Lapierre had two good shifts against Carolina, and more tonight. He needs to continue to improve to maintain his spot in the lineup for the playoffs.
So the Canadiens can be thankful again that their goaltender was a star, and that they faced the team that Flyers fans call “the gang that can’t shoot straight.” But the mediocre efforts of the past two games aren’t going to be good enough against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.
And the Canadiens’ pop-gun offense won’t just be making the opposition goaltender look good. Ryan Miller is already a Vezina-candidate.
Let’s hope that the Habs can bring a full effort, for a full victory, to give their fans true satisfaction.
Rocket’s three stars
1. Jaroslav Halak
2. James Van Riemsdyk
3. Thomas Plekanec
Special mention: Ryan O’Byrne, Tom Pyatt
Player quotes from wire services were used in this report.
(photo credit: Getty)
This was yet another game where I felt I needed to sleep on it in order to see if I felt any different the next day.
As with the Carolina game, I don't. I still feel as though this is a loss. Of course, I realize just how huge those 2 points are. But I also realize that after 78 games, the Canadiens still an enigma. We thought that because they were so banged up all year, that things would change when everyone is back. Well, everyone is back and still nothing has changed. They still play with the coach's mentality of sitting back and letting the other team take the play to his charges.
Watching the game last night, I couldn't help but feel a bit of shame for the way the Canadiens went about their business. I don't know what they're doing by playing this way, but this is not winning hockey to me. I shudder to think what a top 4 team would do to the Canadiens. Is this some sort of clever trap they're trying to spring? Are they playing possum? Limp in to the postseason and then roar back to life? Sort of dangerous if you ask me!
Do the Canadiens not realize that Brian Boucher was in goal last night? He of the 6-16 record? That the Canadiens made him look like a solid NHL netminder speaks volumes to me. Heck, the Islanders hung SIX goals on him the night before!
In my mind, the only thing that this style of play serves to accomplish is the crystallization of this strategy in Martin's mind. He doesn't strike me as the most creative guy, so when he enjoys a measure of success with this brain dead plan, we can be certain that he's going to use it.
As for MAB…what else is there to say about this guy? Sure, he has 2 points in his last 2 games (a point on each of the Canadiens last 2 goals in fact), but this guy is an atrocity on the ice. On the one hand, we have no choice but to be thankful for his contributions. On the other, this only helps prove Flynn's point (at least in his mind). Bergeron, if left to play a regular shift on defense in the NHL would be -30 by the end of the season, if not worse. With the power play sputtering, there really isn't much need for him in the lineup.
Still, despite all this there were some encouraging signs. People have been all over AK46, but he's also been producing. O'Byrne continues to improve, Lapierre hasn't been completely useless, and the goaltending is as stellar as we've seen it all year. Teams are probably afraid of the Habs right now with the type of goaltending they're getting. And they ought to be.
Now if the Canadiens can just remember that hockey is a 2-way game and get the offense back on track, maybe we can all start to feel a little bit of confidence in the team. As it stands right now, I feel as though I have to apologize to the people that we've been stealing points from
LOL!!
I'm still doing my morning read-up on the game, which includes my favorite Habs blogs and of course, the Gazette.
2 things struck me this morning:
1- I respect Pat Hickey. He could quit today and will have seen more Canadiens games than I would have to honour of seeing in 10 lifetimes. That said, I have to wonder what game he was watching last night when he named MAB as one of his 3 stars for last night. Said Hickey: "…played nearly 21 minutes of strong defense…" HUH??? I saw MAB make exactly ONE good defensive play, which was pickpocketing a Flyers forward in the slot and turning the play up the ice…before the chip in strategy ensued.
2- Reason #2040 why Arpon Basu gets paid to write about the Habs, and I don't. Like the rest of us, Arpon struggles to understand why Martin stubbornly sticks to his system of sitting on a lead no matter how small. And then he provides what is yet to be the best piece of insight that I've seen about it:
"I’ve been wondering all season how it could be that Martin was such a great regular season coach, yet still has a 38-47 record in the playoffs. And last night it dawned on me, because in the playoffs, the Canadiens probably lose that game. You can’t sit on a one-goal lead in the post-season. You can’t even sit on a two-goal lead in the playoffs. The consequences are too great, the desperation of the other team too high. You must go in for the kill when you have the opposition on its heels. But Martin seems to lack a sense of a game’s momentum, and how easily it can shift from one team to the other when you allow it to."
Bingo. If any among us think the Canadiens can maintain this style of play in the post season and be successful, please step forward. A room with padded walls awaits you!
Phew. I thought I was the only one disturbed by the fact that Brian F Boucher could have shut out the Habs last night.
Yes, don't pressure the goalie who's knees knocking together could be heard from here. That would be unkind!
Thank our lucky stars the Flyers seemed more interested in waving their sticks in the air, grunting, and punching/bowling (Hartnell) than playing actual hockey for most of the game…
At least it was entertaining while muted and put to Yakety Sax.
I, too, still have ill feelings about last night's game.
As far as the game analysis, there was a time (many years ago) that I read everything I could written by Pat Hickey and Red Fisher. I'm willing to give them abundant credit for past contributions but not anymore.
My only explanation for their more recent tact is that they have learned to follow the path of least resistance. The volume of complaints and hate mail is reduced if they hop aboard the popular bandwagons.
How else to explain Hickey's praise of Bergeron's train wreck performance last night or Fisher's continued fawning over Huet?
I, too, respect Arpon Basu's work but there are few who so succinctly can encapsulate a game analysis like Number31. Read above for a gem.
Essentially she said that Canadiens' fans can only enjoy last night's game when viewed as an episode of Benny Hill.
Bulls eye!
Well folks, allow me a moment to comment on this game from the Philly side of the ice. While many people might think "Flyers fans must be so ticked they lost yet another game" – I must set the record straight.
Sure, it's frustrating that time and time again this team can't seem to capitalize on scoring opportunities and ends up on the losing side of the scoreboard. A shutout loss is usually even more humiliating.
Rocket's not kidding about those appalling Philly stats in recent games…this team has been on a severe losing streak, and losing Jeff Carter to injury was the icing on the cake. But actually, I'm very pleased with tonight's game – not the outcome however…I'm pleased with the game play.
I wish the folks in Montreal would put an end to their "goaltender controversy" once and for all…people, be happy that you HAVE two goaltenders!!! Try living through seven – count em – SEVEN goalies this season. Emery (out with injury), then Leighton (out with injury), then Boucher (out with injury), then Backlund (out with injury), then Duchesne (who has played one NHL game), and now Caron (signed from the Swiss league). Conditions in net are deplorable, to say the least. I blame team management for that – we had plenty of opportunities to shore up that position at the trade deadline, yet Paul Holmgren instead decided that we were solid enough with Leighton and Boucher. Well – that worked out well for ya Homer!
With Boucher currently our starter (and not having anywhere near the stats needed at this time of year) the Flyers have looked pretty downtrodden on the ice. So to watch them play the way they did last night was, for me, a big WIN. They were determined, they were forechecking, they were sustaining huge amounts of pressure in the offensive zone and firing shot after shot after shot at Jaroslav Halak (well, more like shooting at the left and right side of his net LOL). Were it not for his performance in goal, the Flyers probably would have…well, I think we all know how that would have turned out.
There are still plenty of areas this Philly team needs to work on (goaltending aside) but last night was an encouraging spark of life – momentum which will hopefully continue in their last four games.
As for the Habs, they too have four more games to find a solution…to find a way to provide goal-scoring support for their netminders who are being asked to go above and beyond night after night. I think tonight's performance against the Sabres should be an telling glimpse at what the Habs are able to muster. I can't imagine that they are satisfied with last night's game either
Yes I'd prefer to have had the 2 points in our column last night – but if we had to give those points to anyone, I'm glad it was the Habs. But HEY – don't count Philly out yet…believe me, this town is all about finding the most difficult ways to make it into the postseason :)
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