Montreal 4 Los Angeles 1 (Bell Centre )
MONTREAL, QC.– I got my first look at Lars Eller in a Habs jersey in early July at the Canadiens development camp. The press gallery was a ghost town that week as most of the mainstream media enjoyed vacations. A handful of subs hustled in a few minutes before practise ended and headed to the dressing room, voice recorders in hand.
For better or worse, the lifeblood of a modern sports report in the MSM is the quote. Players quickly learn to speak in melba toast sound bytes but reporters are ever-hopeful of a Jeremy Roenick moment. It’s a shame, really, because these lame, predictable quotes are collected and written about almost to the exclusion of analysis.
I suppose that’s where we come in.
Not every drill at the development camp was interesting, but watching critically yielded a boat load of information relative to vanilla words exchanged in a sweaty dressing room. Players’ talents, weaknesses, temperament, and work ethic was all on display. And, believe it or not, NHL’ers play how they practise. Conclusions can be drawn from performances at camp.
Watching Eller, it was obvious that he possessed special talent. He had excellent hands, quick acceleration, strong on his skates, and the ability to protect the puck in traffic. There was something magic about the kid.
But it was also clear that Eller had tremendous upper body strength. In one of the initial drills, he destroyed Kyle Klubertanz, no shrinking violet, with two solid checks, Throughout the week Eller showed his ability to win battles, both physical and puck. Despite being known primarily as a setup man, Eller has an under-rated shot and is defensively responsible.
With the proper development could he be the big, skilled center so long coveted by Canadiens fans?
I found it curious that one respected beat reporter opined in early October that Eller had “a propensity to play soft.” He later wrote that Eller had more to learn and should be sent to Hamilton.
Clearly, the media member was one of the group who missed the pre-season camps. It also should be noted that many of the pro-Halak cheerleaders in the media had no interest in seeing the key piece of the trade return succeed in Montreal.
The last thing that one would conclude from watching this Dane is that he plays soft. Despite some negativity in the press, averaging single digit ice-time, and creatively-challenged linemates, Eller has continued to work hard to maximize his opportunities. He has made steady, positive progress.
He has done this while, at times, being asked to play outside of his natural position.
Tonight, Eller’s efforts paid off as he scored his first goal in a Canadiens uniform (third career NHL goal). Even with the goal and looking dangerous on the ice on every shift, the young center couldn’t crack double digits in ice-time finishing with 9:47.
While the coach was stingy with his minutes, Jacques Martin had plenty of praise for Eller saying, “It’s nice to see Lars getting rewarded with a goal. His entire play has been improving from game to game. He’s reliable defensively, he battles for pucks, and he goes to the net. That should take a load off his shoulders.”
Eller was deserving as the fans’ choice for second star honours. His teammates were excited with each of them roughing him up good-naturedly after the goal. Scott Gomez said, “He got his first one and you can just tell by the bench’s reaction that everyone loves the guy and we were all happy for him. You watch, he’s going to be a special player, there’s no question.”
In addition to Eller, the Canadiens got goals from Andrei Kostitsyn, Mike Cammalleri and Tomas Plekanec.
The Habs finish the week with games in Atlanta against the Thrashers on Friday and Saturday night at the Bell Centre vs Buffalo.
Plus/Minus
▲ Scott Gomez played very well for the second consecutive game and was crediting assistant coach Kirk Muller. Gomez said, “Gotta give Kirky a lot of credit. He pulled me aside and showed me what I was doing.”
▲ It was a rare night that Carey Price didn’t have to be the best player on the ice. But Price was solid making 24 saves. He would have been vying for his fifth shutout of the season if Ryan Smyth had been called for goaltending interference on the lone Los Angeles goal.
► Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek were each plus-one with Hamrlik picking up an assist. Their time-on-ice has to be cause for long-term concern with each playing more than 21 minutes.
▼ Anze Kopitar so often spoken about more favorably than Price was not only on the losing team but also on the short side of the comparison ledger. Kopitar: 0G, 0A, 1 SOG, -1. Price W, 24 saves, 1.00 GAA, .960 SV%.
All Habs game stars
1. Andrei Kostitsyn
2. Lars Eller
3. Brian Gionta
Roster notes
Dustin Boyd and Yannick Weber were healthy scratches. Andrei Markov is out with a knee injury.
(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)
Game Highlights
Scrum with Lars Eller