Vancouver Musings, In-Game Scribbles
February 24, 2009, by Homme De Sept-Iles
Vancouver 0 at Montreal 3
First Period
Vancouver is not a team that I fear. Maybe that is a mistake. But I don’t fear them. They lack the killer instinct. And they have bad habits.
Someone roughs up the captain. Canadiens respond quickly and violently. It’s a clear message to the Canucks and to anyone watching. And to the team itself. I don’t want fighting in hockey. But as long as it exists I don’t want to see our guys bullied. I don’t want to see our captain roughhoused. Montreal is standing up again.
[slider title="click for a poem"]plummeting fierce
red fleers atmosphere
puck in crosshairs
… reducing space and time
…. contracting Vancouver reducing
their oxygen
pain their lanes
we’ve dampened the laserblood osmosis,
gelled the membrane
twenty games are twenty big bold sans
serif chapters in bright red
burnished blue
les canadiens sont la
[/slider]
No sooner are the poetic thoughts gone but Montreal is on the penalty-kill. And it goes to a three on five. And Montreal becomes one lion. Flex and poised, the geometry of the successful penalty-kill.
But then; suddenly and wow – I’m reduced to an ecstatic, swearing, screaming, monotopical, illiiterate, bombastic living room fool. Goal of the year for Nos Glorieux.
So far. Short-handed. Koivu reaching then diving to poke a puck ahead to a box-exiting Plekanec who accelerates and scores on a breakaway. It’s 1-0 Montreal and the game is never really in doubt from this point.
Halak makes sure of it with the best Montreal goaltending performance of the season. The best. Not one of. Le top-top. Thus far.
Something in the last 12 minutes of Montreal’s earlier loss to Vancouver last week told me that Vancouver will diminish as this game continues today. Something to do with a lack of dagger.
As it goes to 2-0, Vancouver’s indifference disorder is manifesting itself; another episode of west coast i don’t care.
Epilogue
The Canadiens’ confidence is almost fully healed; the time of possession is almost back to normal and the turnovers are getting normalized. The team is not at its peak yet but should peak within the next three games. And from there, the star-gazers can dream again.
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