SB Nation - Carey Price

Fifth Straight Habs Loss Colours 2009-10 Chemistry Experiment A Bust

Robert L — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:01:43 -0000

Many valiant heroes sometimes go down with a ship.

On the 2009-10 Canadiens, there have been consistent and considerable efforts from many elements, but the sum is weaker than the whole of its parts.

There have been great individual seasons and respectable showings so far. One only has to think of the resurgent Tomas Plekanec, the beaten to death but still kicking (until Jersey) Roman Hamrlik, the captivating Mike Cammalleri, the heroic, for a spell, Brian Gionta, and the often maligned and occasionally faultering backbone that is Carey Price.

Give a good grade to Travis Moen for his gutsy play.

A "nice to finally see ya" for Andrei Kostitsyn.

A positive nod to overused warrior Glen Metropolit.

Respect for the mostly consistent Jaroslav Spacek and the dependable Josh Gorges.

Max Pacioretty is a kid that is coming around at 20, slowly but sure.

When properly employed, Hal Gill's a good guy to have around.

Sergei Kostitsyn has his moments, competes but fails to complete.

Paul Mara has delivered what was expected of him in terms of toughness.

For the rest....

On this Canadiens team, there are plenty of good intentions to go around, but it all comes back down to the weak sum of the parts.

A crooked and twisted notion, is that these Habs strike no fear. They aren't difficult to play against, as was billed and hoped. They give it their all, but cannot win many individual battles. When they attempt aggressiveness, they spend the game parading to the penalty box. On the offensive, they buzz around like mosquitos without stingers, rarely drawing blood, nevermind fouls.

They are in sum a team that can't win the puck, that can't maintain possession of it , and cannot back down opponents.

In a word....screwed!

A hockey player is alot like a child. They are gonna be what they are gonna be. When it comes to habits, traits and tendencies, it is easier to change players than it is to change a player. The most depressing note on that, is that such a cleaning of house was what got this team here in the first place.

Wanting a passive player to be more aggressive's kinda like wanting a blonde to be a brunette. A shift ot two might offer a different colour, but the roots always grow back in.

I don't want to see this team blown up for a second year running. We tried that already and it has been a giant step sideways.

Scott Gomez, the first player added to the mix, has been everything cement is supposed to be.

Cammalleri and Gionta have balls bigger than the pucks they fire, but will never be the difference makers in the trenches.

Plekanec, surely the Habs most rounded player, is a containable asset when not surrounded by players with more killer instinct.

Andrei K, playing his best hockey while the team is all achors, is the poster boy for several other enigmas on the team.

Price, with the right kind of team in front of him, has all the attributes to win and win big. On this team, in this city, his best friend will be his psychologist.

These Canadiens may work very hard, but they work badly because they haven't the required skills, the physical composition, or the mindset to sustain the type of effort required to win more games than they lose. That, and no discernable leadership, does not help.

All the individual attributes of the players add up to one very ordinary team. One many fans couldn't get excited about from the get - go.

The game of hockey will always be one of unstoppable forces versus immovable objects. It's down to speed versus size, and too much of one without enough of the other doesn't cut it.

The top teams in the NHL are always prepared to suffer in order to win. Size, and perhaps the fear of further injuries, prevents these Canadiens from becoming a top team.

The most depressing notion is that they cannot shed their shin, just as a blonde cannot ever truly become the brunette they wished they were.

Remember that old "OFF" repellent commercial, where the dude sprays his arm with the chemical and inserts it into a plexiglass box and the insects lay off?

What constructive evidence of the 2009-10 Habs testifies that they can draw blood?

Remember Bob Gainey's playing card analogy of a few years back, something to do with a hand loaded with deuces and threes making it hard to bluff, or something along those lines?

In a hockey reality of aces and kings....oh just nevermind.

The mid season point is starring this club down with more dread than hope.

A seven game road trip, on the lip of a five game losing streak, hangs like a death knell over this season.

On the road against clubs this Canadiens edition could conceivably beat - Islanders, Thrashers, Hurricanes, Maple Leafs, Senators, Lightning and Panthers - the Habs must win at least 6 out of 7 or its all over folks.

The Canadiens have a combined home and away record of 7-5 against these foes so far this season.

I'd love to find a positive spin to offer on the next 14 days of this Canadiens' season, but I don't believe in miracles, voodoo, ghosts, kewpie dolls, spells, magical creams, Quebec virgins, luck, Zimmerman, the return of Markov, global warming, superstition, lotions, copper bracelets, pyramids, prayer, the power of positive thinking, faith healing or hypnotism.

And I'm a fuckin' optimist!

The 2009-10 Canadiens chemistry experiment has been a bust. Would you prefer that it is admitted now, or in three years time?

It's meat, my friends. Time to stick a fork in its butt and turn it over.

Robert L note: Sorry for not bothering to post a single pic or link with this post, but I felt this one needed to be delivered in plain old black and white.

Habs Bedevilled In Jersey

Robert L — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:32:25 -0000

I'm starting to think that it is pure fate. Each time the Canadiens put a little victory string together, tease us with some solid all around games, the bottom falls out. Losses rarely seem catastrophic, but are just dismal enough to slash through promise.

It's like the brain gets stuck between "they'll win the next one" and "what the hell can go wrong next?"

So the Canadiens last night, did the minimum number of good thing last night to be in a game for 58 minutes. In fairness, they were far from horrendous, quite honestly. But maybe it is just the way this season is meant to be, because with just a few minutes left on the clock, there was more of a sense of looming doom than there were prospects of overtime heroics.

Discipline again, ate away at good intentions early into the game. Four first period penalties - a bench minor and a delay of game call to Carey Price included - gave the Canadiens penalty killers ample icetime to flex their muscle.

Fortunately, this not only didn't knock the wind out of their sails in this game, it actually helped in providing a lead, as PK stud Travis Moen backhanded a softie past Martin Brodeur than could have been stopped by Terry Sawchuk's ashes. 99 times out of a 100, Brodeur makes that save.

After 20 minutes the shots are 8-7 Devils, the score 1-0 Montreal, and I'm counting horseshoes and rabbit ears. The Devils aren't on their game it seems and the Canadiens are playing hungry at times.

A win in Jersey, such as this one in Jersey in 2008, could really boost this team, but hell's pitchfork found a way to do the Habs in once again, coming in the form of the weirdest goal I've seen scored on a Canadiens goalie in ages.

Some fifth stringer Finn with too many "K's" and vowels in his surname beat Price over the head actually, with a shot whose trajectory couldn't be tracked by the goalie. It's my guess only that defenseman Marc - Andre Bergeron's stick helped the shot to flutter, as it wasn't obviously apparent why it turned into a knuckle ball. The shot came in at Price arms length over his head and Price went to trap it with his catching mit with his arm forming a 210 degree arc from left to right. In visual terms, his left hand looked to be behind the right side of his head when the puck bounced off, hit the corner cross bar, then the back of his leg, all the while Price having of idea of its whereabouts as his skate heel pushed it past the red line.

What damned luck!

A strange goal that remended me a bit that one playoff goal Brodeur surrendered that caromed in off his dropped stick and through his legs a few years back.

My first thoughts, other than crying, were of the goalie's mit I put on my hand a few weeks back at the Bell in the event of a Habs used equipement sale.

If you haven't had the chance, put a modern goalie glove on some day. I don't know how a goalie is supposed to catch a puck with such a bulky contraption. The things seem to weigh about 15 pounds and are more designed to protect the wrist, palm and backside of a hand than it is to catch a puck. The padding is chunky in places inside the mit itself, as if to ensure that a puck caught at high speeds is not dropped from a closed hand. But of course, the makers might not have created it with the intention of goalies catching bloopers behind their heads at weird angles.

The goal didn't sap the Habs, but it did give some momentum to Jersey with about four minutes left in the second period. Price had played well to that point and afterwards as well, but the Canadiens began being outmanned and outchanced.

The third period was all Devils, as they limited the Canadiens to three measley shots. With less than three minutes, Bergeron and his mates were caught up ice, giving Patrick Elias a clean path to Price, who made the first save but couldn't prevent the second as it was lifted over him as he sprawled.

The Canadiens may have lost Roman Hamrlik in the process, who injured himself in a fall as his feet were caught up in Price's pads.

A strong game, I felt, was played by Scott Gomez, who battled hard and more often in places that he's rarely seen doing so. It was a strong effort by him on a night when the Devils tossed a blanket over Tomas Plekanec and Mike Cammalleri.

In the end, it all feels so despairing, as the Canadiens, while hardly being able to do enough to win, did just enough to lose by the skin of their teeth. Against the Devils in Jersey, this could be encouraging, but I just can't find that type of hopeful notion so easily anymore.

About Last Night...

Lions In Winter

Canadiens vs Devils boxscore

In Lou We Trust

It's like the brain gets stuck between "they'll win the next one" and "what the hell can go wrong next?"

New Jersey Devils Win a Sloppy Game Against Montreal Canadiens, 2-1

John Fischer — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:33:38 -0000

More photos » by Rich Schultz - AP

Patrik Elias' goal in the third period was the most exciting event of the game. Naturally it came near the end to ultimately finish off a sloppy game between the Devils and the Canadiens. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

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Well, that was certainly some game! You had the New Jersey Devils, who were miserable on the power play, sloppy playing anywhere outside of their own zone for most of the game, and seemed out of sync in general. The visiting Montreal Canadiens were more than happy to shoot themselves in their own foot over and over by way of penalties and giveaways, trying to trap the Devils all game with some mixed success, and sleepwalking through the rest of the game after scoring the game's first goal (particularly in the third period). Neither goaltender was particularly tested and outside of it being Martin Brodeur's 1,029th career game - tying him with Patrick Roy for the all-time record in games played for a goaltender - it was a mostly unmemorable affair.

It really was a game no one necessarily wanted to win, neither team stepped up their play to dictate the tempo or the pace of the game. Yet, thanks to a fluke goal helped by Carey Price and Patrik Elias being at the right place and right time on a rebound, the Devils come away with a 2-1 victory over the Bleu Blanc et Rouge. NHL.com has their recap up complete with the boxscore and other stats.

Read on for my further thoughts on tonight's game, check out Robert's thoughts later on at Habs Eyes on the Prize.

Where do I begin? Well, let's talk about the opposition. On paper, one would wonder why in the world they were in this game. Discipline nearly became a huge issue. They didn't just take 5 penalties in the game, they took 5 penalties within the first 30 minutes of the game and 4 in the first period. They giftwrapped approximately a minute long 5-on-3 for the Devils. The only reason why it wasn't a huge issue was that the Devils did very little with these man advantages.

But put that aside for a moment because I have to make this point. These weren't just minor penalties. Oh, no, they were some incredibly stupid penalties! This included a too many men on the ice penalty, Hal Gill throwing a man down while on offense, Carey Price playing the puck outside of the trapezoid (seriously!), and Jaroslav Spacek breaking a stick. Four of those five were just mindless!

And that makes me more unhappy with the performance of the power play. The Devils had a total of 8:47 on the power play tonight across these 5 minors (Rob Niedermayer's hooking call negated the last few seconds of the power play on Spacek) and what was the result? 3 shots and a shorthanded goal against! Yes! Only 3 shots! And one goal against! It's not even that they didn't score, but that they didn't make Carey Price work hard or really pressure the Montreal penalty killers. I'll be fair and give the Canadiens' PK a gold star, they did their job; but the Devils' power play units made it easy for them at times. Those times, it was like watching a dog defecate. And then there's the shorthanded goal scored by Travis Moen. See for yourself with this video from NHL.com:

I have no words. Wait, that's a lie, I have a few. Ugly. Total breakdown. Awful. Unacceptable. What was Langenbrunner thinking? Don't tell me, he wasn't.

Bizarrely enough, this did absolutely nothing for Montreal. At the time, the Devils were outshooting the Canadiens nearly 2 to 1 and...this didn't inspire the Canadiens. The goal did not give them much of a boost. They went on to put 4 more shots on Martin Brodeur, entirely uneventful shots, and then moved on in the game to put only 11 more on net in total. Even in the second period, where I thought the Canadiens were more effective in getting the puck forward on offense than the Devils, they just didn't turn that into any sustained offensive pressure.

Full credit should go to the Devils defense for closing down on the Canadiens forwards and cleaning up every loose puck available. There were times where they made some dumb passes/clearances, but overall, the Devils looked poised. I felt Johnny Oduya and Colin White in particular played very well. They didn't concede the puck and didn't back down from anyone, be it Mike Cammalleri or lesser players like Sergei Kostitsyn, Tom Pyatt, and Scott Gomez (ASIDE: Did Scott Gomez play? The boxscore said he played 17:14, but truthfully, was he really there the all that much time? I think his sole contribution to the game was having the arena boo him when he was on the ice.) I really can't complain when you hold the opposition to 18 shots in the game. And Martin Brodeur wasn't challenged too much on the majority of those 18 shots. In the defensive zone, the Devils looked good. Outside of that, it was like the team was skating through mud.

What I amazingly can't complain about is the faceoffs. I was certain to write a blistering set of sentences about how the Devils seemingly got tossed from every faceoff and proceeded to lose them. Nope. Per the stats, that only happened 10 times. Moreover, the Devils won 61% of total faceoffs and despite seeing Niedermayer (12 for 18) and Travis Zajac (10 for 16) seemingly get thrown out, they did very well. In fact, the Devils seemingly had more possession of the puck than the Canadiens, especially in the first and third periods. Thankfully, in the first 10 minutes of the first and the last 10 minutes of the game, the Devils actually did something and turned that possession into shots on Price leading to acceptable totals of 8 and 10, respectively, from those periods.

As another detour, when you look at the event summary stats, you realize a number of things. You realize that Zach Parise managed to put 5 shots on net. You realize Brian Rolston and Vladimir Zharkov (who skated hard all night long, unlike most of either team's players) followed behind with 4. And you're aghast that the Devils managed to have 18 officially recorded giveaways. From what I saw, I know full well Montreal was giving it away, but honestly the Devils weren't that much better and all this contributed to and continued to make this game even sloppier. Passes not only missing their targets but going right to the other team - that's terrible. And it shouldn't surprise the Devils if Lemaire makes a point of that tonight or tomorrow.

But let's get back on track and point out how the Devils actually won tonight. In a sloppy second period where the Canadiens turned up the heat to "lukewarm" and the Devils were still out of sync, the fourth line actually gave the Rock something to cheer for. 4 blown power plays in the first period and down by 1 led to boos. But the equalizer surprised and delighted the hometown fans. I'm sure it surprised Ilkka Pikkarainen (the goalscorer) and Carey Price (the goaltender). Here's the video of the goal:

For those who didn't quite catch it in the video, the puck hits off of Price's glove, hits the post, slides into the back of Price's left skate, and goes over the line. Congratulations Ilkka Pikkarainen, you scored not only your first NHL goal but it was important (tied the game) and you did it in a very improbable fashion. This game will certainly last as a memory for Pikkarainen, despite how the game looked like from the observers like us.

Alas, the Devils built on this only slightly as they tightened up on defense but still had very little of an attack until halfway through the period. The top two lines started getting aggressive, increased their hustle, and wouldn't you know it, it actually led to shots on net and a general feeling of excitement in the stands. The Devils, they were doing something and perhaps it could win them the game. Of course, the game winning goal started from a good defensive stop followed by a good outlet pass by Bryce Salvador, and, well, see for yourself:

A great goal by Elias that ultimately ended a really dreary game between both teams. Thank you Rolston for putting the shot on net to begin with and thank you Elias for going to the net to put that home. Above all, thank you for essentially putting the game away at that point as Montreal did very little with 6 skaters in the final 1:14 of the game. Seriously, no shots against and much of it was spent outside of the Devils' zone.

Of course, what does one make of the game overall? The Devils didn't play well, aspects of their performance stuck out as very good (faceoffs, defensive zone play) and others as absolutely terrible (power play), and they pull out a regulation win. The Devils were very fortunate, in my opinion, that Montreal was just as bad if not worse than New Jersey tonight. Last week, the Devils came out in a similar haze against Florida and the Panthers soundly beat them, 4-2. The Devils looked good for maybe 20 minutes total and won tonight. Go figure. Maybe the Panthers are better the Canadiens (actually, per the standings after tonight, they are). What a way to go through your 1,029th career game, eh, Marty?

For the big picture, I hope the team doesn't start to make a habit of having sketchy performances leading to wins. Sure, wins are great. I'll gladly take tonight's win. But developing bad habits aren't worth it and I really hope the Devils don't go into games thinking, "We can be lackadaisical, but be strong enough for a part of the game/come from behind to win." I'd love to see the Devils put out a proper effort against Ottawa on Friday. In particular, I'd love to see the power play be less than useless against Ottawa. (Seriously, the Devils put 3 shots on Price across 5 power plays, I can't get over that, it just makes me want to bang my head against a wall.)

Thanks to Steve for putting up the GameThread, thanks to the commenters and readers, and please leave your thoughts on tonight's game in the comments.

If Halak Could Be On The Move, It May Be Due To Cedrick Desjardins Continuing To Defy The Odds In Hamilton

Robert L — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:53:43 -0000

When Canadiens fans consider the top prospects in the organization the first thoughts usually center around pivot Louis Leblanc, who was cut today from the Team Canada junior camp. Other names crop up, such as defensemen P.K. Subban and Yannick weber as well as center Ben Maxwell, but a name often overlooked and seldom caught on the radar is goaltender Cedrick Desjardins, currently burning up the AHL statistically.

Desjardins is the subject of a column today by Mathias Brunet of La Presse, who reports that the Bulldogs stopper is on fire of late, having surrendered but one goal in his last four games.

Call it food for thought, but could this be why Jaroslav Halak trade rumours are heating up at the moment?

Consider the following: Desjardins' record is 8-4-1-4 with a 1.45 GAA. His save percentage is .944, second best in the AHL behind Dallas Stars prospect Brent Krahn. He recently came within minutes of topping a 1957 Johnny Bower AHL record for consecutive shutout minutes.

Those are the kind of numbers that turn heads in a league!

For Canadiens' fans unacquainted with Desjardins, it may be due to the fact that he was a somewhat unheralded free agent signing in 2006. After getting his start with the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL during the Sydney Crosby era, Desjardins moved on the Patrick Roy's Quebec Remparts, winning the Memorial Cup in 2006.

He has come a long way from being drafted 200th overall by the Halifax Mooseheads of the Q in 2002. His first season in junior has hardly a success, winning only one of 23 games he appeared in.

By the 2004-05 season, he had moved on to Rimouski, earning the starters job. It was a season of growth playing alongside Crosby, and the Oceanic made it all the way to the Memorial Cup final, which they lost to the powerhouse London Knights 4-0.

At 20 years of age, and undrafted at the NHL level, Desjardins did not despair in his search for a professional contract. He signed on with Roy's Remparts as an overaged junior, and Quebec rode his hot hand all the way to the league championship, which was lost in six games to the Moncton Wildcats. As Moncton for the host team for the Memorial Cup that season, Desjardins and the Remparts, as finalists, were given a bye into the Canadian junior final round robin.

It was there that Desjardins truly made a lasting impression, as he guided the underdog Remparts to the Memorial Cup title. He was stellar under the gun in the final game as the Wildcats fired 48 shots in his direction, beating him only twice as Quebec cruised to a 6-2 upset.

Later that summer, Desjardins was invited to the Chicago Blackhawks training camp, but eventually signed a contract to play with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

With goalies Carey Price, Jaroslav Halak, Cristobal Huet and Yann Danis all ahead him on the Canadiens depth chart in goal, Desjardins was assigned to the ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones in October of 2006. He was twice called to Hamilton first replacing Halak when he was called up to Montreal and a second time upon the trade of Huet to Washington.

In 2008, following the Bulldogs missing the playoffs, he was returned to the Cyclones just in time to lead them all the way to the Kelly Cup title in 2008.

Like he done in the Quebec league prior, Desjardins was once again named playoff MVP.

Last season, desjardins split time in Hamilton with veteran Marc Denis and has shared the load this season with Curtis Sanford.

A high point in his career in the Canadiens organization came at the Habs' camp in 2008, when he was put in goal for the third period of an exhibition game against the Detroit Red Wings. Desjardins allowed no goals in his 25 minutes of play including overtime, and promptly shut the door on the Wings snipers in the shootout in backstopping the Habs to the win.

The 24 year old from Edmunston, New Brunswick has made a career of defying the odds against him. From Brunet's La Presse article, current Bulldogs coach Guy Boucher had this this to say:

Everywhere Cedrick has played, he was tagged as the goalie who most assumed would not lead. He was the guy in nets by default or circumstance. With the Oceanic, he came into the team plans as a third string goalie but performed well enough to play regularly. In time, he became the starter, but we weren't sure of winning with him, so the team aquired a 20 year old to take the helm. Cedrick soon outperformed him as well. We won the President's Cup and made it to the Memorial Cup final that season. Crosby and Desjardins were incredible in those playoffs.

Boucher goes on to answer in theory why Desjardins had continuously flown under the radar.

As a goalie, he does not have an imposing presence about him, nor is he looked upon as having abundant natural abilities. But, he's a ferocious competitor. He's extraordinarily strong on second and third rebounds. He pulls rabbits out of his hat it seems. At any given time, when he looks beaten, he'll surprise and make the stop. It's not luck. He's extremely quick and very athletic.

Brunet goes on to say that Boucher and his assistants helped in refining Desjardins' technique.

In Rimouski, as an assistant coach, I was in charge of handling Desjardins' psychological approach in games. I've known him well for some time now and we have put in a lot of time together. We've worked on patience together. The biggest difference between junior and pro or the East Coast League is that the initial shot on goal becomes much more important. In junior, that first shot is easier to stop because it is not as hard. At the pro level, shots are fired without warning. Pro levels goalies who are having difficulties adjusting are the ones who have the most trouble with that first shot. What Cedrick had to learn was to concentrate singularly on that first shot instead of worrying abou the consequences of a rebound. He had a tendency to try and predict what he would be doing next rather than focusing on the first task. Now he more concentrated on the first chance and as aggressive on rebounds.

In talking of Desjardins and his season, Boucher would not yet term either he or Sanford as the team's number one goalie. Sanford has been equally strong, but his wife has recently given birth and Desjardins' performances have come during the veteran's lightened workload. The goalies had been alternating until recently, but as Desjardins gained the hot hand, Boucher felt it best to ride it out.

The coach was non-committal as per Desjardins short or longer term prospects with the Canadiens. That talk was not up for discussions as Boucher would not want such scenarios hampering his goalie's focus at the present time.

He must continue to focus uniquely on the next game and not about what comes along in two weeks time. Not on whether in six months he'll be the number one. In Hamilton, our goals are to help the players reach the NHL level and Cedrick has always taking things a step at a time. For now, his challenge is to demonstate the consistency required from being a number one AHL goalie.

Game 32 Preview: New Jersey Devils vs. Montreal Canadiens - 12/16/2009

John Fischer — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:00:20 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur made this awesome save against Philadelphia on Saturday. How many will he have against Montreal tonight? (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Browse more photos »

The Time: 7 PM EST

The Broadcasting Info: TV: MSG+ (HD); Radio: 660 AM WFAN

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (22-8-1) vs. the Montreal Canadiens (15-16-3)

The Last Devils Game: The New Jersey Devils started off great against Philadelphia, had a poor second period, but had a decent enough third period to put the Flyers away 4-1. The win was the first one this season over the team's Second Most Hated Rivals and was the game where Patrik Elias scored his 300th (and 301st) career goals. I recapped the game back on Saturday night.

The Last Canadiens Game: Oh, it's been a season of inconsistency for Les Habs. Up against Buffalo on Monday, the Canadiens got into penalty trouble and that led to Clarke McArthur's game winning power play goal. The Sabres went on to win 4-3 and Robert L of Habs Eyes on the Prize lamented the team's lack of discipline from that game, which truly stems from the team being outworked more than anything else.

The Goal: Try to win the second period. Oh, tonight would seem so magical for Martin Brodeur to get his 104th shutout against the team he seemingly owns on a regular basis, the Montreal Canadiens, in front of the hometown fans. Well, forget that noise. I'm more concerned with the team's performances in the period of the long change. Against the Lightning (Dec. 4), the Red Wings (Dec. 5), the Hurricanes (Dec. 9), the Panthers (Dec. 11), and the Flyers (Dec. 12), the Devils were arguably the second best team on the ice in the second period from what I saw. That's 5 of the Devils' last 7 games. That's disappointing.

I'm not saying the Devils should forgo playing well in the first period or the third period; I just want to see a good, solid second period performance. A second period where the other team doesn't make the game competitive after a great first period by the Devils. A second period where the Devils don't ease up on their work effort. A second period where the Devils don't loosen up on defense. Sure, the Devils have been getting results in the end, but they aren't doing it with complete games and they'll have to start giving more 50-60 minute efforts to keep getting results.

Read on for the rest of the preview for tonight's game, including some insight from Robert at Habs Eyes on the Prize.

First, let's get this out of the way, expect the lineup to be the same. So my guess will look awfully familiar to those who saw the team against Philadelphia:

Zach Parise - Travis Zajac - Nicklas Bergfors
Brian Rolston - Patrik Elias - Jamie Langenbrunner
Jay Pandolfo - Rob Niedermayer - Vladimir Zharkov
Rod Pelley - Dean McAmmond - Ilkka Pikkarainen

Andy Greene - Bryce Salvador
Colin White - Mike Mottau
Mark Fraser - Johnny Oduya

Martin Brodeur
Yann Danis

The Devils have been getting wins with current lineup and there's no way Martin Brodeur isn't starting against Montreal. Tonight, he'll tie Patrick Roy's career record for games played (1,029) and, well, Brodeur has done incredibly well over his career against Montreal, per Yahoo's career split stats:

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Career vs. Montreal - Martin Brodeur	55	3326	35	15	5	99	1.79	1448	1349	.932	8

In a word: DOMINATION. Please note that those are his best split statline compared to all the other teams he faced.

Yeah, I'd expect Brodeur to do pretty well tonight. But as usual, this doesn't mean the defense can relax against Montreal. Sure, the team averages only 2.47 goals per game, but they had no issue putting up 3 goals past Ryan Miller. The big concern for the defense, on paper, will be the power duo of Tomas Plekanec and Mike Cammalleri.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Tomas Plekanec	34	6	28	34	5	16	1	0	0	0	74	8.1
2009 - Mike Cammalleri	34	18	12	30	10	12	3	0	4	0	114	15.8

Behind them, it's a mix of seemingly inconsistent forwards. Talented players like Andrei Kostitsyn, ~~Alexei Kovalev~~, and Scott Gomez (P.S. The Rock will still boo you, all is apparently not forgiven.) are just not producing like the above two players. I'm sure the Canadiens faithful would love to see them improve on that front. Hence, the low goals scored per average for Montreal.

I'm also sure they'd love to see less penalties committed by their team. The criticism from Robert's recap of the Buffalo-Montreal game is not only echoed by Kevin Mio of Habs Inside/Out, but the team stats provide additional evidence. In terms of penalty minutes per game, it doesn't look so bad as the Canadiens average 13.4 minutes per game - that puts the team squarely in the middle of the league at 15th. But the minor penalties, oh, that's a different story. Les Habs have taken 170 minors this season, the second most in the league behind Philadelphia (172). By contrast, the Devils have only taken 101, the fewest in the league.

While that may not mean much in tonight's game, I think it highlights the importance of the Devils needing to outwork the Canadiens. They'll get beat, they'll do something dumb like hook, slash, or hold a player, and then they'll take a call that hurts them. Even if they kill all of the Devils' power plays (an increasingly difficult prospect as the Devils' PP is converting 22% of them), it's time they're spending mostly in their own end instead of attacking. That's opportunity to pressure them further and that's a benefit. So again, the Devils giving a complete - this includes the second period - effort on the ice will lead to many dividends beyond just possession of the puck.

The Canadiens have suffered a number of significant injuries to their roster along with inconsistent results. I had some additional questions about how Montreal on Sunday night. Thankfully, Robert Lefebvre, the man behind the epic Canadiens encyclopedia Habs Eyes on the Prize, was able to provide me with some answers.

Question #1. After a very busy summer, the Montreal Canadiens certainly haven't wowed many with a 15-15-3 (now 15-16-3) record. Regardless of what happened in Buffalo on Monday night, is there any one aspect that really sticks out that is holding the Canadiens back from success?

RL: While the Canadiens record may not have wowed many, fans in Montreal have generally been impressed with the majority of the new players. Cammalleri especially, [Brian] Gionta, before the injury, [Travis] Moen on the penalty kill, and with strong play from [Jaroslav] Spacek, [Hal] Gill and [Paul] Mara, the Canadiens are far from being in a desperate situation. If anything has held the team back, it has been the injury to Andrei Markov. After he was lost long term after being injured, the hope was that when he returned, Montreal would be somewhere around eight spot, looking at the playoff picture. It's mid December and Markov's return is imminent, so things are good.

Question #2. While Brian Gionta is injured and won't be at the Rock on Wednesday, Scott Gomez will make his first appearance in a Canadiens uniform. I can almost guarantee the Devils fans still haven't forgiven him for jumping to the Rangers, but how has he been received in Montreal? How is he performing so far, outside of what his stat line says?

RL: Scott Gomez - would you take him back? Personally, I haven't much good to say. I find he's a player who avoids making the tough plays in the offensive zone. When confronted, he seems to coil away and pass off, and it often appears that every set of defensemen in the league know it. While Gomez has merit defensively, that ain't what he's getting the big bucks for. For the anchor of a cap hit, he ain't worth it.

Question #3. Let's talk goalies. Chris Boyle's monthly analysis of Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak is an impressive statistical analysis. While the latest article notes that Price has been criticized for his glove side, but the numbers show he's been beaten low and to the right slightly more often. Why do you think that is the case?

RL: In November, there were many more accolades accorded Price for his strong play than there were criticisms of any glove side or low side weaknesses. Generally, the goals beating Price are less his fault than in the past. Why he would be more susceptible in one area is anyone's guess. My smirky answer would simply be because shooters are firing less to the upper regions since Carey's made certain corrections to his style.

Question #4. One of the more impressive team stats for the Canadiens this season is their winning percentage after scoring the first goal. The Canadiens are fourth in the league with a .846 percentage when they score first in a game. In contrast, they have one of the worst winning percentages when they give up the first goal, .200 and tied for 5th worst in the league. With that in mind, is it fair to say that the gameplan for Montreal will be to get that first goal?

RL: Every game plan in the history of hockey includes scoring the first goal, because as stats show, most teams have a losing record when they don't. Against the Devils, with a busy schedule, the Canadiens will place an emphasis on avoiding being pinned in their zone for long stretches. They'll also be tactical in using their speed to break through Lemaire's system in hopes of spending more time in the opposite end of the rink for a change. While the Habs aren't always getting that early goal, this team has shown that it rarely quits.

Question #5. Lastly, do you have a prediction for tonight's game?

RL: My prediction? How about a one goal game with the Canadiens taking it in a shootout. Boos for Gomez too, as he'll perk up some and put in solid effort.

Thanks to Robert for his answers. From them, I'm thinking the Canadiens could be better what their record indicates. Most of their free agent signings outside of Gomez have done well - most notably Cammalleri. Apparently, Andrei Markov is being talked up as the answer in Montreal - and when he returns, some of their troubles will ease. But he won't be playing tonight, and Scott Gomez and his pass-first ways will be. Now, with respect to the first goal question, I'd like to defend myself here. The Devils are one of three teams with a winning percentage after trailing first in a game (.571, behind Washington at .667 , ahead of Pittsburgh at .500). Rare, but the Devils have done it so many times this season, I don't think it is that far fetched to wonder why a team has trouble coming back from games. Still, look for Montreal to try and strike first and push ahead with speed.

All the same, it all goes back to whether the Devils play hard for all three periods. I really stress the second period because it's been 20 minutes of trouble in recent games; but as usual, hard work will lead to results. Don't worry about Martin Brodeur. Don't worry about the media. Don't worry about "what could be" in terms of any records. Be concerned with how the team performs.

Steve will have the GameThread up later today. Please comment on tonight's game in the comments (feel free to post any updates from Gulitti or Chere), and Go Devils!

Game Preview: Buffalo Sabres @ Montreal Canadiens

Rafal Ladysz — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:11:50 -0000

More photos » by Don Heupel - AP

18 days ago: Buffalo Sabres right winger Patrick Kaleta, left, and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Paul Mara trade blows late in the third period of the NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Buffalo won 6-2. (AP Photo/Don Heupel)

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Scoring by committee and extraordinary goaltending create lengthy postseason runs. In essence, the Buffalo Sabres are playing playoff hockey currently or at least preparing for it. Beginning and ending with Ryan Miller, they have been backstopped by his 18 wins, four shutouts, a .939 save percentage and 1.83 goals against average. I'm honestly running out of positive things to say about the 29-year-old.

In the last three games, Steve Montador, Clarke MacArthur and Patrick Kaleta have each registered a game-winning goal. Darcy Regier wanted to build this squad from within giving them time to bond and grow together. We're beginning to see why. They have 11 different players with at least one game-deciding tally and Kaleta was the latest showing perhaps the finest display of his career in New York. When someone is down in terms of their level, a teammate has stepped up to the table.

Montreal surely has this match circled on their schedule after the Sabres demolished them 6-2 kicking off December on a high note. Less than ten minutes in, Buffalo put three quickly by Jaroslav Halak en route to a completely one-sided affair.

Five thoughts on each team below.

Carey Price will be dressed barring any last minute setbacks. He has two wins in five starts but can be the x-factor matching the Oct.1 Montreal victory where the Canadiens were outshot 35-17. His last performance in Atlanta was sparkling as he made a few breathtaking saves in a losing cause. They were outshot 34-19 by the Thrashers. More on that in a minute. Update: Halak is the starter looking to redeem himself.
Mike Grier's anticipated return to the line-up is occurring today. While this is good news, Grier has experienced a loss in the family and may not be as focused as he usually would be which is understandable. Lindy Ruff said he hopes to bring him ten to 12 minutes in ice time.
I spoke about the Canadiens getting outplayed by the Thrashers and it's a trait they haven't been able to avoid. Of the 33 games Montreal has completed, their opponent has registered more shots in 19 of them and they have only done so 12 times. In the last three matches, they have been outshot 121-66. ~~Price~~ Halak is going to have his work cut out for him tonight.
Catching fire, Derek Roy is becoming a point per game performer registering three goals and five assists in eight contests. His career statistics versus the Canadiens are re-assuring and Roy looks to keep it that way.
The hot stick in Montreal belongs to Andrei Kostitsyn who has four goals and five points in a four-game stretch. A talented stick-handler, the Belarussian packs a wicked shot and the Sabres would we wise to take away any space from a forward who has been flying since the middle of November.
Kaleta and Paul Mara have a bit of history dating back well over a year ago. It started with a check that injured the defenseman while he was representing the New York Rangers and the two have had it in for each other since. Mara is questionable for tonight but if he plays, expect quick fireworks.
Chris Butler and Nathan Gerbe are day-to-day both nursing lower body injuries. Marc-Andre Bergeron experienced a face laceration in Atlanta after being hit in the face by the puck. If he sits, that would be a massive loss for Montreal as he's provided necessary scoring from the back line.
Buffalo is allowing 2.17 goals against per game trailing New Jersey and Chicago barely. However, the Sabres are ahead of just Carolina and Tampa Bay in goals for in the Eastern Conference and could stand to use a little extra support.
Andrei Markov is meeting with doctors today to evaluate his status and could return at some point this week. Originally, he was expected to be out until February due to severed tendons in his right leg but has quickly recovered with intense work. One of the game's best defensemen, Markov will help the Canadiens in every way imaginable.
Tim Connolly has been quiet since a four-point evening in Philadelphia. The hip pain he's living with could have everything to do with it after last year's surgery. Connolly seems to be fine for the most part but you have to wonder if the busy schedule will take it's toll on him.

Having heavily outworked the Canadiens in two meetings, Buffalo is the favorite. Montreal does have two things going for them: a goaltender who can and probably will have to sneak out two points and a passionate fan base that will make themselves be heard. They'll need both from the opening face-off.

Price / Halak - The Stats - November 2009

Chris Boyle — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:13:39 -0000

What a difference a month makes.

Thirty days ago the Canadiens were in the middle of a goaltending controversy. Jaroslav Halak's agent was NITWITTERING Carey Price's won/loss record, the fanbase had placed the bus in reverse and were attempting to leave a fresh set of treadmarks on Price's back and the Canadiens were plodding through their schedule at .500.

Outside of the Canadiens still flirting with the .500 mark, the attitude regarding the goaltending situation has changed dramatically. Since this article is a retrospective on November, it is heavily weighted towards Price. Halak's one start didn't offer enough of a sample to legitimately track his monthly progress. What began as an even split in October, turned into a clear separation as Price started 11 of 12 games in November, almost rendering the title of this article, and its point, moot for at least the time being. A solid performance by Halak in Ottawa suggest that the busy month of December may tell a different story.

Surprised by the turn this has taken, maybe you shouldn't be. This has been typical of the story that Price has written over the first two and a half seasons of his career. Somehow, instead of the fanbase observing the roller coaster ride from afar, recognizing that as the roller coaster descends, a peak exists for it to climb, they jump on the roller coaster eyes closed screaming for dear life on its mad descents only to extol the virtues of the ride when they disembark.

Should Price struggle in February again, it is likely that the fresh imagery that exists in everybody's minds right now will once again dissipate in a mad panic

Panic in Montreal is generally followed by the rewriting OR ignoring of history. Even with Price's strong November this controversy is not over, it will continue to bubble just below the surface. Should Price struggle in January, the detractors who are silent right now will re-emerge with the same arguments, their memories will once again be wiped clean. While the starting goaltender in Montreal is one of the most heavily scrutinized positions in sports, the easiest may be the backup goaltender in Montreal. The backup's flaws are always concealed under the their baseball caps, their past transgressions completely ignored. This will never change.

At Eyes On The Prize, we continue try to look past the surface level blame and analyze what is really going on. This month we will compare Price's performance in November to October and also look back and try to clarify the factors that contribute to a team based stat like a win / loss record and how it relates to Price and Halak.

One of the main arguments against Price in October was his inability to win games. With Halak sporting a 5-2 record and Price at 2-5, the most simplistic argument was "Price doesn't make the big saves when he needs to" and "Halak wins games". That argument ignored plenty of factors, most importantly that wins are a team based stat.

While perusing the internet I came across an interesting perspective at Brodeur is a Fraud. While trying to debunk the myth of Brodeur's career, he came up with an interesting statistic that he refers to as Win Threshold. It essentially projects out what a goaltender would have had to do to earn a point (.500) by including the teams performance in front of him. In a 3-1 victory, the assumption would be that to earn a point the goaltender would have to allow no more than 3 goals. Inversely, in a 3-1 loss the goaltender would need to have allowed no more than 1 goal.

We can calculate what I'll call the "win threshold" for the goalies on each team by taking (shots against - goals for) / shots against. This gives us the save percentage that would result in the team ending up with an equal number of goals for and goals against over the course of the season. If the goalie's save percentage is above that number, the team is likely to win more than the lose, while anything below the threshold means that the team should end up sub -.500 (or sub -.550 in the shootout era).

This simple statistic beautifully illustrates the career of Chris Osgood AND his playoff run that allowed the media to begin the "Chris Osgood is a Hall of Famer" nonsense.

In 2008-09, Detroit's win threshold was .873, which was the lowest in the league. The Islanders' win threshold was .928, which was not only the highest mark in the league but also the highest of any team since the lockout......Naturally, comparing win totals on goalies playing on the Islanders to goalies playing on the Red Wings is completely senseless.

Using this as a starting point, I compared how this statistic affected goalies on the same team. Was the Canadiens offense responsible for Halak's inflated win total, or was it his superior goaltending? What would Price have had to do to compensate for the woeful offense in front of him? Was it that Halak was receiving an easier ride?

(Let me preface this by stating that this is judging wins and wins alone. If a goaltender was fantastic and had a .960 SV%, but only needed to produce a .895 SV%, it is not devaluing his performance, only stating that his margin for error was very high. I also understand that early saves can keep a team in a period. Teams play to the score and loosen up when they are up big and that some goals are scored late in a game and alter the margin for the threshold. It is obvious that providing replacement value will never replicate the actual performance that history has provided. This theory is being used only to illustrate that wins are a team statistic and that they are heavily influenced by not only what you save, but what offense your team provides).

To put this in perspective, the league average in save percentage is .910.

In order for Price to gain the majority of his wins, he has had to offer above average goaltending.
His margin for error was slim and when he failed to balance on the high wire, he was open to criticism.
A .915 save percentage is currently good to place 20th in the league.

Halak on the other hand was allowed to navigate with a greater margin of error. He only needed to offer a save percentage of .865 to register his 5 victories. Vesa Toskala's save percentage on the season is .863. So any goaltender slightly more competent than Toskala MAY have registered a similar number of victories as Halak.

Both goaltenders would have had to provide Hall of Fame type performances to avoid the majority of their losses.

How would those statistics translate if you offered up average replacement value? If Jimmy Howard and his .910 SV% replaced Price and Halak, the Canadiens would be in deep trouble. The Canadiens would likely be in the hunt for Taylor Hall, not talking about the importance of their December schedule.

Looking at Price's losses below, it is unlikely that an average goaltender makes any impact on his losses, hell, it's unlikely that Roberto Luongo would have made much of a difference.

Price's threshold in his 11 losses is a SV% of 0.944 and a GAA of 1.69. Numbers that would place him above Ryan Miller as the number one goaltender in the league. Six of those starts would have required a .940+ SV% just to procure a shootout. If the team continues to struggle offensively to this capacity, then it is going to require Jose Theodore 2002 MVP type performances to drag them into the playoffs. With Price and Halak entering their RFA season, THAT is a scary and expensive thought.

You would think with Halak's lack of activity in November, that his stat line would remain unchanged, but with only an 8 game sample, one strong start against the Flames resulted in an 11 point improvement on his save percentage and lopping 1/5th of a goal off his goals against average. In October, Price statistically lagged behind in all the major categories, but with a strong month has lessened the paper gap between himself and Halak. I made the argument in October that Price had a higher ceiling, but was prone to wild swings of inconsistency and the 2009 season has proven that out so far.

Through two months, what has been proven, is that the Canadiens goaltending is in good hands. With the transition of turning over half the team, and the numerous injuries to key personnel, the fact the team came through November at .500 is miraculous. At this moment, Halak's consistency offers the perfect compliment to Price, but due to the idiotic actions of his agent (Halak, Halak it a lot?), it is clear that Halak is eyeing a starting assignment, and will not likely find that in Montreal. You may be reading "Price / Sanford: the numbers" by ~~March~~ December. (note: as I am writing this, Sportsnet has reported that Halak has been placed on the trading block).

The fact that I can even mention a 2002 Theodore-like season is based on the strong November showing by Price. Playing behind an injury ravaged defense that produced roughly the same amount of shots as the previous month, from roughly the same areas, Price's numbers improved across the board. Price also managed to avoid a major meltdown like the Vancouver game, as well as producing a couple of 40+ shot gems against the Bruins and Predators.

With Halak pushing Price for the starting job in October, by all accounts Price responded to the challenge with hard work, which resulted in plenty of positive signs over the last month. With hard work Price's confidence level soared and his return to a hybrid style has allowed his athleticism to re-surface, because of this, Price managed to produce some miraculous saves during November. His patience has also been on display, particularly in shootouts and breakaways where once again he is using his huge frame to his advantage and refusing to commit before the shooter. With his gap control improving, he has been extremely hard to beat in 1 on 1 situations. This is a huge improvement on the tentative approach he used in late 2008-09. Add in his aggressive puck handling and his tenacity in battling to track the puck and the hope in Montreal is that Price has begun turning the corner.

Price's save percentage's also improved in almost every category in November, with his biggest improvement coming in shorthanded situations where his save percentage improved by over .200. His woefully low special teams percentage in October masked the fact that he was producing an elite level even strength percentage. With an improvement to mediocre powerplay standards, Price's statistics all experienced a significant jump across the board.

The question remains, what came first, the chicken or the egg? Did the Canadiens penalty kill improve in November because of Price, or did Price's numbers improve because of the penalty kill? Halak did not suffer the same special teams meltdown. Could that have had anything to do with the power of the opposition, or his own play?

With so many new faces and the loss of Markov, it is no surprise that the PK got off to a slow start. With the return of O'Byrne and Gill and the emergence of White and Pyatt, the October implosion by Price should be avoidable moving forward.

Interesting to note if Price had managed to produce an .878 powerplay SV% in October, his overall SV% would have improved from .889 to .920.

Price and Halak continue to get bombarded by shots and the Canadiens have once again regressed into becoming over reliant on goaltending to win hockey games. With the early season injury to the Canadiens best player (Markov in 2010, Koivu in 2002) and the continual 30+ shot barrages, this season is becoming eerily reminiscent of the 2002 season when Theodore needed to provide the difference every night.

With Price's numbers improving in November, the assumption would be that the Canadiens settled down and began to limit shots and scoring opportunities. The Canadiens actually surrendered an extra two shot attempts per game. Price still is averaging over a shot attempt against per minute on the ice, a trend that will either lead to a statistical regression or an MVP award.

In 8 of his 11 starts in November, Price faced 30+ shots, including a team record tying 53 saves against the Predators and a 42 save gem that was seconds short of his 1st shutout of the season. Only once in his 11 games did he have less than 50 shots directed at him. Price continued to excel on shots outside of 20+ feet as he only allowed 7 of 257 shots to beat him. His SV% below 20' feet drastically improved and is pushing towards the league average.

Price offered up plenty of spectacular saves in November, but also had some concentration lapses that resulted in some questionable goals, something that had been absent from his game in October (only 5 of 25 came in as questionable, with zero registering at fault). Although his statistics drastically improved over the month of November, with the Canadiens lack of scoring ability (25th in the NHL) and his unbelievably tough win threshold (see above), his margin for error was slim. This can be witnessed by his 0-4 record in the 4 games I credited a bad goal. In two of the games (Detroit and Atlanta) the margin of victory was one goal, the other two (Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh) were decided by two goals. As he matures, these goals should occur less frequently allowing him to become even more of a game changing player. He isn't yet ready to carry a team, but it seems the Canadiens have given him little to no choice in the matter presently.

Looking at the zones where Price has given up goals, his glove hand continues to be much maligned even though he has only been beaten high glove side 11 times through November (11/53). The reason for the questions lies in the amount of bad goals high glove side. Out of the 12 goals categorized as suspect or bad, 6 have been high glove side, making it much easier to understand AND defend the criticism.

Looking at his November chart also gives the impression that he is very vulnerable low stick side, but looking at the video below shows that a lot of those goals came as the result of cross ice passes in which Price was not able to square up and were the result of him in transition. A small concern for me through two months has been his vulnerability through the 5-hole, an area he has not been able to cover with his stick either in transition or static and squared up.

Goals deemed questionable or bad are marked in bold.

26. Rich Peverley feeds it in front and it deflects off Bryan Little by a moving Price beating him 5-hole. 10 ft.
27. Pass from behind the net to a wide open Peverley in the slot, snaps a shot by Price low-stick side. 14 ft
28. Point shot by Mark Popovic that knuckles by Carey Price beating him high glove side. 59 ft.
29. 5 on 4 PP. Cross crease feed to a wide-open Pavel Kubina who directs it pass Price into an empty net. 5 ft.
30. Kane cross crease pass to a wide open Colby Armstrong who beats Price low stick side. 8 ft.
31. 6 on 5. Point shot. Price makes the initial stop, Patrice Bergeron rebound beats Price low-stick side. 5 ft.
32. 5 on 4 PP. Scramble. Price makes 2 saves but cannot stop Ryan Malone as he beats him five-hole. 11 ft.
33. Price, big rebound and Alex Tanguay alone, chips it over Price beating him high glove side. 14 ft.
34. 2 on 1. Scramble. Wright beats Gorges to the puck and slides it into an empty net. 6 ft.
35. Price highsticked in the throat by Mara falls down leaving an open net. Robert Lang puts it top shelf. 15 ft.
36. Point shot wide deflects into an open net off Bissonnette's skate beating Price low glove side. 12 ft.
37. Price makes initial save, Steve Sullivan all alone finishes off his rebound beating Price 5-hole. 7 ft
38. 5 on 3 PP. Point shot stopped, Sullivan at the side of the net beats Price low stick side. 14 ft.
39. Odd man rush, cross ice feed to the slot. Brandon Sutter chips it over Price, high glove side. 14 ft.
40. 3 one 2, cross ice feed one timed by Jussi Jokinen beats Price low glove side. 32 ft.
41. Eric Fehr snaps a shot from the face-off dot beating Price high-glove side. 25 ft.
42. Morrison takes a pass in front and moves opposite to Price's momentum beating him low glove side. 6 ft.
43. 5 on 4 PP. Brad Stuart point shot handcuffs Price and trickles in. 55 ft.
44. 5 on 3 PP. Brian Rafalski point pass tipped home by Pavel Datsyuk at the side of the net. 12 ft.                         45. Nash behind the net finds Vermette who one-times it past Price beating him high blocker side. 11 ft.
46. 5 on 4 PP. Rick Nash centers it, Stralman cheating off the point beats Price low blocker side. 24 ft.
47. 5 on 4 PP. Antoine Vermette's shot stopped, rebound back to him, beats Price low blocker side. 20 ft.
48. Sidney Crosby snap shot from the top of the faceoff circle beating Price high glove side. 38 ft.
49. Bill Guerin from the corner. Price makes initial save, doesn't hold the post as he beats him 5-hole. 8 ft.
50. Crosby with a beautiful pass to a streaking Sergei Gonchar who beats Price 5-hole all alone. 8 ft.
51. Point shot deflected in front by Brooks Laich beats Price low blocker side. 18 ft.
52. Alex Ovechkin one timer from the top of the faceoff circle beats Price low blocker side. 38 ft.
53. 6 on 4 PP. Price stops a one-timer by Ovechkin, Fehr slides home the rebound beating Price 5-hole. 10 ft.

The November verdict: You have to be encouraged by the performance of Price and Halak through November and the improved penalty kill is a positive sign and a factor in Price's improved numbers. The volume of shots and scoring opportunities remain a major concern. In October I preached patience because of the integration of 10-12 players and the introduction of a new system. With injuries creating a revolving door of players it is likely that this team has still not properly gelled. The Canadiens have fallen into a pattern of struggling to produce offense and relying on Price and Halak to bail them out, and this is a dangerous game to play with developing goaltenders. They have been able to provide some fantastic results through November, but if this continues they will struggle to make the playoffs. To provide room for improvement moving forward, the goaltenders get a B+ for November.

To view the October Price / Halak analysis, click here.

Snapping the trap: Pens outwork Habs and win 3-2

Hooks Orpik — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:07:55 -0000

More photos » by Graham Hughes - AP

11 days ago: Pittsburgh Penguins' Sergei Gonchar, center, celebrates after scoring against the Montreal Canadiens with teammates Sidney Crosby, right, and Pascal Dupuis during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

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Penguins vs Canadiens coverage - Habs Eyes On The Prize

The Montreal Canadiens seemed content to let the Penguins fire shots off from all angles. The Pens put a barrage of 41 shots on Carey Price, whereas the Habs only got 21 pieces of rubber on Marc-Andre Fleury. Puck possession was another story. Pittsburgh cycled circles in the Montreal zone, a relentless attack that generated a lot of pressure. This can be partially illustrated in the total shots launched. The Penguins attempted 80 shots on goal (39 either got blocked or missed the target), compared to Montreal's total of just 46. When you have the puck in the zone, you work it and you try to shoot. That the Pens did this at almost a 2-1 rate shows the dominance.

Scoring was opened in the first period when, off of a cycling effort (told ya it was key), Bill Guerin flipped a beautiful cross-ice pass to Sergei Gonchar, who was pinching down as Penguin defensemen did all night long. Gonchar drilled it by a helpless Price.

Matt D'Agostini would get the equalizer in the second when he snapped a shot by Fleury. Less than three minutes later, the Habs would take an unlikely 2-1 lead when Roman Hamrlik unleashed a monster shot from afar on a screened Fleury. The goal was scored on a power-play, which is something that the Penguins apparently don't remember that you're allowed to score on those.

Before the period was over the Pens would tie it up, Matt Cooke deflected a Gonchar shot in to tie things up. Then, we see that when you go to the well enough, good things happen. Brooks Orpik threw an awesome stretch pass all the way up the ice for Pascal Dupuis. Dupuis ripped one of his patented slappers, and while Price got 38 of 41, he couldn't get that one.

Montreal would get another goal, if not for another quick whistle that negated a goal. Again, similiar to a situation last week against Colorado, an out of position referee thought Fleury had the puck and blew the whistle. This time it wasn't such a quick whistle, as the puck was tied up (though certaintly not covered) for a little bit which gave the ref reason to blow it dead.

Sergei Gonchar had himself a night: one goal, one assist, six shots hurled at net on a team high of 25:26 of ice-time. A well deserved first star of the night.
Power-play woes continue to dog the Pens. 0 for 5 tonight in another fruitless effort. Sometimes getting things set up is the problem, sometimes not. Sometimes inactivity seems to hurt, sometimes not. Often though, they're just not executing, as perplexing as it seems for a unit that boasts as much talent as they have.
Brooks Orpik had a great night too; not enough can be said about the stretch pass he made to Dupuis on the game winner. He also ended up being a +3 on the night, which is a pretty good sign in a 3-2 game.
The Habs tried to clog up the neutral zone the best they could, often times with only one half-hearted forechecker and four guys holding their real estate. It didn't seem to bother the Penguins, who had no problems dumping, chasing and doing some dirty work down low. It shows in the numbers when you see Tyler Kennedy (5 shots, 1 hit), Ruslan Fedotenko (4 shots, 1 hit), Matt Cooke (1 goal, 2 shots, 3 hits), Craig Adams (2 shots, 4 hits). The pluggers plugged away.
Carey Price was almost the story of the game. He didn't have many idle moments when the Pens weren't pressing him. But his shaky glove hand betrayed him at the end.

So that's the game and another win on the road. The Habs and their fans were smarting over the quick whistle negating a goal, but the fact of the matter is they got out-worked and out-chanced all night and didn't really deserve to win the game.

Up next may be the ultimate trap game. Consider: The Pens embark on a home-and-home against their rivals the Flyers next week, but first they'll be playing in their blue jerseys against a feisty opponent that relishes playing against them in the Florida Panthers. Hopefully they bring the same effort they showed tonight in Montreal, they'll need it.

Experiencing A Canadiens' Win In Ottawa's (Not So) Rival Rink

Robert L — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:52:53 -0000

It's was early Wednesday morning as I began this, a snowstorm between Ottawa and Montreal, a total whiteout, and it has kept me home from my real world job, which today would have seen me venture back up to the capital city, dropping off Oldtimers Hockey Challenge tickets from Orleans to Kanata.

Thank goodness for snow days, eh?

Well not really, as the weather has provided me with more snow to shovel than I want to deal with. Bur ironically, and coincidentally, today's weather has provided me an easy lead-in to story threads from the Habs game last night and my experiences seeing the Canadiens on the road for the first time in my life.

The Canadiens third straight victory, five days into the beginning of their second century, featured a storm of sorts, in that a barrage of shots were fielded by surprise starter Jaroslav Halak, the game's well deserved first star.

The whiteout alludes to Habs' forward Ryan White, called up from Hamilton earlier in the day, only to play four shifts last night, before somehow being declared ineligible for the game, something to do with the Canadiens failing to declare the callup with NHL sources.

With the Habs playing well of late, with back to back wins against the Bruins and Flyers no less, I was real anxious to experience seeing them in Ottawa, where a great multitude of Canadiens fans reside. I've watched Montreal at the ~~Civic Center~~ ~~Palladium~~ ~~Corel Center~~ Scotiabank Place before and seen their fans turn out in droves, but actually being there among them, as I've found out, is a whole other reality.

I won't suggest that the Habs' fans outnumber, or are louder than their Senators fan counterparts, but it is a pretty evenly split room. Together the two sides help bring up the ante and charge up the tempo. From the cheapseats, it's a lively atmosphere, to put it lightly.

Sitting next to a Sens' fan that looked like Ken Hitchcock after dropping 200 pounds, I got on his good side really early by mocking the Senators division title banners just before the drop of the puck. During the game, I further endeared myself to him, all in good fun of course, by pointing out the mass of empty seats in the building and noting everytime a Senators shot was blocked but still registered on the clock count.

His subtle shots directed back to me were almost whispered comments to his friend and they included calling out every Habs player fall as a dive, saying "We're totally dominating" about a dozen times, and suggesting goalie Jaroslav Halak looked nervous while completely stoning Ottawa all game long.

Among the Canadiens fans scattered in Section 323 were a group of Habs Inside Out loyalists along for a mini Habs Fan Summit. Dave Finn (Punkster) was seated next to me. A converted Leafs' fan, Dave is an asute observer of the game, and he spent the evening pointing out all kinds of subtle and interesting game notes to me. It was a pleasure spending time with him.

A few seats away were Chuck Lewis and his girl and Adam Mills (subdoxastic), who's been a commenter at EOTP for a long while now. Other HIOers within reach were Paul Dube (who did a fine job organizing the trip and bringing everyone together), Ian Cobb (who's done the same for two Montreal fan summits now), Dave (DD) Reid, Nate Boisvenue (Natrous) and his brother. Pretty much the entire group had a Sens fans seated next to them.

One good laugh I had was watching Ian, donning his now traditional 1945-46 classic home white jersey, attempting to convince the Senator fans next to him to come over to the Canadiens' side.

The coolest part of being mixed in with the Ottawa fans was leaning over them three times as we'd all high five each other when the Habs scored. We would have had to a fourth time, but by then, all the Sens fans had left to beat the 417 rush home.

One treat of a fan was this guy a couple of rows down from me. Wearing a Marian Hossa jersey, he literally castigated Kovalev at every opportunity. He was in absolute angst each time Kovy hit the ice, yelling "Do something, lazy ass!" and a bunch other obscenities. Kovalev was roundly booed on the evening, a composite hounding from both sides as he floated through the game. I noted to Dave that most of the game, I wasn't even aware he was on the ice.

Overall, the sense I got from Senator supporters is that they are an inhibited bunch among the Habs throng. The "Ole, Ole" chant was omnipresent, from the busride in, to the corridors and throughout the game, and to the tunneling out post game back to the bus.

I was standing in a lineup between the second and third and overheard a snippet of conversation involving a guy with a Carey Price jersey and a man in unidentified colours.

"Who are you going for?" he was asked. "Nevermind," he wilted.

The guy in the Price jersey turned to him friend and they simultaneously nodded "Sens fan!"

One thing I found particularly lame, was when the Canadiens scored, the public address practically mumbled the details as if to neuter the cheering. It caught me off guard, it was so minor league. I was all pumped to scream my head off, and that monotone drone just threw me for a loop.

Late in the contest, when the attendance was announced at eighteen thousand and something, I had to cry "bullshit." The bozos next to me tried to get my ire by mockingly counting the empty seats. My retort was a simple "Wonder how empty this place looks when it's not the Habs playing?"

Scotiabank Place is indeed an old time hockey experience. The musical selections between drops of the puck keep on entertained and amused. For one stoppage we got 30 seconds of the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop", and for the next we got some cheesy farfisa pump organ playing the "Charge" interlude. You can't help picture a Monty Python skit while listening.

As for the game itself, the Canadiens, backed by a standout performance from Halak, put in a pretty solid road game. The shot margin was high, especially after losing defenseman Jaroslav Spacek at the end of the first. From high up you could see that the Senators were firing from all angles but rarely piercing the perimeter.

The Canadiens made the most of their chances. Mike Cammalleri's goal was a beaut! On the two on one, Tomas Plekanec put a fake on the Sens defender that was a true marvel. The blueliner's stick was properly placed between Plekanec and his winger until a shot was faked and a slip pass made. As the Ottawa rearguard moved his stick to deflect, the pass went the other way. All the streaking Cammalleri had to do was redirect it into the open cage.

Sitting high offers a view in which you can truly appreciate the hardest working players and spot the floaters with ease. The most notable things I took in were how aware Roman Hamrlik is of his surroundings when not in possesion of the puck. You can really begin to understand why there are so few mistakes made from his corner when he does come in contact with the puck or opposing players.

On the Ottawa side, it's clear that Kovalev's teammates haven't a clue what he's about yet. He spent the night eluding any kind of close check, skating arcs and circles outside the perimeter of play. When oportunity arose, he'd streak towards the net from the far board, but linemates weren't looking for him. It gives the impression that he's floating, but that type of evasiveness has always been part of his game. He'd didn't accomplish very much on the night.

I never had much good to say about Jason Spezza and this game didn't change that. As the Senators fell behind, you'd think the team's most talented center would be leading the charge, but I caught Spezza waiting at the Habs blueline for a pass at least four times - in the third period alone.

Another noticable feature of the rink at Scotiabank Place was that the dasher boards are dead. The puck isn't given much bounce when fired off them, which tends to favor a Senators forecheck. The backs of Canadiens defensemen were constantly offered as targets to onrushing Sens forwards. Curiously, Halak rarely got back quick enough to stop the wraparound shoot ins Ottawa employment to break into the zone.

Much credit for the win went to first star Halak, but the work of the penalty killing unit was without fault on seven occasions. A player who is rapidly changing my opinion of him is Hal Gill, who was a tower of strength with a man down. Gill's long stick is always perfectly placed, and after he had broken up a good half dozen plays, the Senators forwards began working away from him as he had completely neutralized any cross ice passed from his side of the rink.

There was about five minutes to go in the game when fans started for the gate. I couldn't believe my eyes that people were hitting the exit in a one goal game. The moment the Kostitsyn goal was scored, it was as if the finger was removed from the hole in the dam and a deluge ensued. By the time of Scott Gomez' empty netter, the rink was half empty, nothing left but the Habs' faithful.

That final scene - about 9,000 Habs fans cheering in a rival rink - is my lasting image of this game. I'd head back to Ottawa and do this all over again in a nanosecond.

If anyone is thinking of heading to Ottawa for the December 28 game, there were all kinds of seats available. If you have a hunch of going, do so. I was seated at the 300 level near the blueline, and the sightlines for the whole rink are great.

Kudos to Paul Dube for organizing this fun get together. If you should ever take in a game in the capital, do as Paul did and get everyone together at Local Heroes on St. Laurent Blvd. From there, they have nightly round bus trips to Scotiabank and back for only five bucks.

With Emery Out Six Weeks, Are There Other Goaltending Options?

Geoff Detweiler — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:00:22 -0000

Since Ray Emery was placed on Injured Reserve with an abdominal tear and will be out an estimated six weeks, the Philadelphia Flyers might want to look at acquiring a goalie for the rest of the season.

Currently, the Flyers are going with Brian Boucher as the starter and Johan Backlund the backup. Not exactly two goalies you expect to be on a Stanley Cup contending team. Asking those two to be the only two goalies for around 20 games (from December 8th to January 20th) is a little scary: that's almost a quarter of the season.

Do you feel comfortable with Boucher and Backlund manning the pipes for that long? Do you trust Ray Emery to return in exactly six weeks, ready to play at a level similar to his start? It's understandable if you don't.

So, what about goalies possibly available via a trade? After the jump, a look at Brian Boucher, Johan Backlund, and a few potential goalies available.

Boucher has been around for awhile. The former 1st round pick in 1995 broke into the league in 1999-2000, but never really had a firm grasp on the starting job anywhere he really went. He has never started more than 40 games in a season, which he did in 2002-03 in Phoenix. There, he split time with Sean Burke, Zac Bierk, Patrick Desrochers, and Jean-Marc Pelletier.

Last year, Boucher twice started 7 games in a row, going 5-1-1 and 2-4-1 in each set. His goals against average for each stretch was roughly 2.43 and 3.00 in those games.

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Brian Boucher	8	415	2	5			18	2.60	183	165	.902	0

Johan Backlund:

He is making his North American debut this year with the Adirondack Phantoms. So far, he has a 6-8-0 record, with a 2.81 gaa and .903 save percentage. Everything out of Adirondack suggests Backlund is a big reason why the Phantoms are even in most of the games. He's even received this praise from Phantom forward Matt Clackson: "I'm happy we still have him. He's good enough to be up there (the NHL)." Well, now he is. How long it lasts and how well he does is anybody's guess. But let's hope he's better than we first saw in the preseason.

Now, if those two didn't inspire confidence, there are plenty of options outside the organization. As would be required, I went to CapGeek.com to look at what the Flyers could afford. Their daily cap calculator says the Flyers have over $3 million in cap space available. They also estimate $4.7 million available in "acquisition space (full-season cap hit.)" Not sure if I believe that, especially with the Jones fiasco, but CapGeek is generally pretty good.

With that in mind, the first goalie who would surely pop up in conversation would certainly be former Flyer Martin Biron.

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Martin Biron	13	751	2	8			38	3.04	410	372	.907	1

Those numbers don't exactly look great, but if you look at Biron's even-strength save percentage, he's tied with Boucher for 29th in the league at .922. Among those with at least 10 games started, Biron ranks 20th. Also, his goals against at 5-on-5 is 2.39, ahead of Jonas Hiller, Jose Theodore, and Cam Ward. (Boucher's is 2.18, Emery 2.26)

What's important when looking at Biron though - other than the fact that he played for the Flyers the past two plus seasons - is his one year, $1.4 million deal he just signed. With Rick DiPietro starting to practice again, Biron appears to be the odd man out on Long Island. His short and affordable contract makes him easy to trade, something the Flyers certainly like.

Next, the Flyers might look at Carey Price. The beleaguered Canadiens goalie carries a cap hit of $2.2 million and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year. Over the summer, there were rumors that saw Price coming to Philadelphia, but that never happened.

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Carey Price	22	1294	9	10			58	2.69	668	610	.913	0

Currently, Price is 25th in the league in GAA and 21st in save percentage. Looking at his even-strength numbers, Price has a .925 save percentage, good for 15th in the league among those with 10 starts or more. His 5-on-5 gaa is 2.33.

The obvious upside with Price is that he's young (still only 22) and certainly has a lot of talent. Playing in Montreal can never be good for young goalies, so a trade could possibly see Price up his game. The downside is that he might just have a fragile psyche, no matter where he plays. He also could suffer from the hype, as a lot of people watch him play and leave unimpressed. Lastly, since he'll be a restricted free agent after the season, the Canadiens will probably want something significant in return.

Another goalie worth looking at is Dan Ellis. Due to be an unrestricted free agent after the season, Ellis carries a cap hit of only $1.75 million. Since breaking into the league in 2007-08 and stealing Chris Mason's starting job, Ellis has since lost his job to Pekka Rinne. That could make his value drop, which would further help the Flyers.

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Dan Ellis	13	656	5	5			30	2.74	328	298	.909	0

Again, the numbers so far this year aren't very impressive at first. He's 27th in GAA and 23rd in save percentage, while he's 35th in even-strength save percentage at .918. At 5-on-5 he has a very pedestrian 2.60 gaa. The best attributes of Ellis are that he has post-season experience (2.52 gaa, .938 s%), has previously gotten hot for a stretch, has a modest cap hit, and the Predators are a favorite trading partner of the Flyers. The downside is that he's just not an elite goaltender, nor is he young enough to warrant a risk at age 29.

Continuing down the list of inexpensive, soon to be free agent goaltenders, next on the list is Josh Harding. Stuck behind Niklas Backstrom in Minnesota, Harding has failed to have a breakout year. His best season was last year, when he posted a 2.21 gaa and .929 s%, but that came in only 19 games (with a 3-9-1 record). He's off to a horrible start so far, but it's only been 6 games.

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Josh Harding	6	324	2	3			18	3.33	137	119	.869	0

Obviously, those numbers are pretty bad. But, the good news is that it's a small sample size. Also, his even-strength save percentage is only .874, good for 63rd out of 67 goalies. His 3.29 5-on-5 goals against average isn't any better. Why is a goalie who's playing so poorly even being mentioned? He's only 25, he's coming off his best season as a pro, he's inexpensive, and he has good career numbers - 2.57 and .916. Bad? He's only played 64 games and has a career losing record, playing in a defense-first system. Either way, the asking price would be lower than most other available goalies, and the upside is clearly there.

While rather unlikely, another name that could surface is Jean-Sebastien Giguere. He has a cap hit of $6 million on a contract that expires after next season, but he's lost his job to Jonas Hiller (who, coincidentally is an unrestricted free agent after this season) and doesn't appear to be happy about it.

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Jean-Sebastien Giguere	12	708	3	4			31	2.63	370	339	.916	1

This year, Giguere has been good, but not great. There was a great story by Jonathan Willis the other day breaking down Giguere's play the past few years that showed his poor showing last year was mostly a result of his father dying in the middle of the season. Needless to say, Giguere - a former Cup winner and Conn Smythe winner - would be the type of elite goaltender so many people want the Flyers to have. However, he's 32 years old with a very large cap hit. The Flyers don't have enough room to take on that salary, so a high priced player would have to go back to Anaheim, which might be a bit difficult to swing since we already traded high-priced players this off-season.

Other goalies of note who will be free agents after the season include Johan Hedberg, Cory Schneider, Jaroslav Halak, and Antero Niittymaki.

What do you guys think?