Toronto Musings, In-Game Scribbles

Montreal 6 at Toronto 2

Kovalev’s dressing-room beard is looking rather scruffy. Joel Bouchard says he hopes there aren’t any Leaf fans who believe they can make the playoffs. He apologizes for bursting the balloon but they will not be making it.

Gerber starts. The Air Canada Centre music is unfortunate. And the decision to have Royal Mounties appear on the red carpet for the anthem is incongruous. And inappropriate. What have Mounties done for the game? It’s time to go to the NBA method of having the anthem fifteen minutes prior to tip-off. Or better, just get rid of it.

I know what country I’m in. I don’t need a hockey game to remind me.

First Period

Mike Hasenfratz and Brian Pochmara are the referees.

Dandenault is on the ice first for Montreal with Plekanec and Higgins. Andrei Kostitsyn is absent. Healthy scratch. Stewart is his replacement.

Three Leafs occupy the crease after the first freeze. Gorges throws Grabovski to the ice. Nothing comes of it.

Canadiens are playing with some impunity and it might not be the best idea.

Lapierre tries to force his way to the front of the Leaf net and is pushed backward and down for it.

Laraque is with Metropolit and Stewart. They create Montreal’s first real scoring chance. Backhand is repulsed by Gerber.

The impunity has faded as Montreal retakes their attitude of the past few games. Calm efficiency and quick passing. The ACC is as quiet as it usually is.

Leafs get called for tripping and they try and goad a Montreal player into the box.  Matt Stajan. Typical.  Both the penalty and the attempt to goad.  Leaf intellect.

Some good crossing of swords as both teams clash in the Toronto zone.  Toronto won’t give up the good shot but Montreal prevents a handful of clearing attempts.

Kovalev ends the stalemate from one of his favoured sniper-points.  Left circle.  Clever wrister above Gerber’s left shoulder.  Brunet calls it a perfect shot.  And then calls it an incredible shot.  Not a lot of space to place it, true.

1-0, Montreal.

No three to four goal predictions from Jacques Demers today.

Dandenault is called for hooking.  Dandenault is incredulous. It’s a bit on the border.  On the replay it looks even shadier.  Nevertheless, the home team gets this call and goes on the five-on-four.  Carbonneau would be smiling that smile of disbelief.

Metropolit and Higgins are the first Montreal pairing.  Pavel Kubina and Thomas Kaberle are on the point for Toronto.  And they get a good chance early but Halak slides over to blunt.

Leafs get a second good chance but nobody can get a stick on it.  Then Kubina fires a shot.  Toronto has kept it in for the first minute-thirty.  Then Montreal clears it. And then end it with no further threat.  The power-play ends with the puck behind the Toronto net. Shortly thereafter Latendresse gets a brisk backhand in on Gerber.

2-0, Montreal.

Gainey gets Metropolit’s line on the ice for the following faceoff.

Now KTK is on the ice and they move the puck adroitly looking for the spacing they want.  Tanguay gets a screen shot after stopping in the high left slot.  Nothing this time.  Puck bounces away opposite.

Faceoff to the right of Gerber.  Toronto zone ice is already very worn.  KTK stay on the ice despite the long TV break.  Gainey is undemocratic in his minutes-choices for the lines.  A different style from Carbonneau.  It’s a tough line to defence and their creativity is a viewing pleasure.

Plekanec with Higgins and Dandenault is probably a short-lived combination, likely this game only, but an intriguing group. Dandenault’s speed and size could give Higgins and Plekanec some interesting opportunities above the circles.

Matt Stajan could be Chris Higgins’ brother. Appearance-wise, at least.

Montreal continues to stay ahead of Toronto and their time of possession advantage is tilting heavily. Most of it is in transition areas.

Laraque is difficult to take the puck from on the boards. Metropolit line works hard without the puck. Lapierre line follows with a similar shift.

Halak is now put out of rhythm by an athletic turn-and-shoot from the blue line by White. Saves it and Montreal regains control.

Toronto is turning the puck over just inside the Montreal blue line. With regularity. And now they also go offside. Toronto is a smaller, faster team than last season and they seem to have long-term offensive potential. Their average age is the same as Montreal’s, 29 years.

Higgins gets his first scoring chance of the night; shot driving left. Gerber stops it.

Of the three, KTK, Kovalev turns the puck over most. But, like Matt Dunigan, lots of TDs to go with the INTs. Without risk there is less gain. Or no gain.

Gorges is playing his usual smart game. Stewart is looking to fight. Harrison goes with Laraque and then Kubina went in on Laraque as third man in. Well, that’s against all the codes, rules and ethics, now isn’t it? Who cares what Cherry thinks.

Now Stewart is dealing with a very angry Kubina. Kubina’s nose is bleeding.

They clear it up and we see the replay. During the play, Laraque throws his weight around the boards with vigour and several Leafs look on offended until Harrison has enough.  Stewart very gamely jumped on Kubina. Grabbed his neck to get him away.

It’s a rare glimpse of the old Laraque. It goes without saying (but I’ll add it in case) that Laraque was demolishing Harrison and this is why Kubina jumped in. Kubina saw Harrison in trouble and hit and grabbed Laraque from behind.

Montreal goes on a power-play. Toronto seems aroused by the events. And they deliver a robust penalty-kill. Then they keep the puck in the Montreal zone for a brief ten seconds. Good kill by the Leafs as the period ends with seven seconds left in the power-play.

First Intermission

The supposed code (it’s usually capitalized) speaks strongly against an extra man (third man) in on a fight. But this is like the boy-brute schoolyard law that says combatants can’t hit below the belt. It’s all hogwash. RDS is discussing the lineup changes. I imagine the topic is different on channel six. Not interested.

They address the third man in now. Brief admonition from Joel Bouchard. And they chuckle over the prospect of having to fight Laraque.

Second Period

Ligne Internationale is making it look like a power-play again. But no chances. Montreal is not getting many this game. Outside of the two goals, there have really only been two other chances. And both were warm only.

Plekanec is starting to get chances he hasn’t been getting in recent games. This one comes close to Gerber’s left as Plekanec uses his quick acceleration to get the backhand on net. Gerber stops it.

Montreal gets away with a slow line-change. Could have been called for too many men on the ice.

Plekanec creates a chance for Dandenault in the crease but no stick. Skate only and it caroms wide.

Now a simultaneous go Leafs-go Habs chant starts. Latendresse gets clear and shows some of his new 08-09 speed. Small breakaway is stopped and a penalty-shot is called.

The shot: Good mini-deke but Gerber stops it.

With all the chances certain players get one might think hat tricks would be far more common in the NHL. Let alone for this team. Today’s NHL (post-lockout) has essentially been unchanged since its inception.

Now Koivu comes and keys a play-maker’s goal. Accelerates. Brings the puck up from his forehand to his backhand and slips it out to Tanguay. Goal.

3-0, Montreal.

And they stay on for the following faceoff. Like the days when Lafleur would stay on ice to hear his PA accomplishments. There’s very little like seeing the same player score twice in less than a minute. Gainey seems to believe it could happen with this line.

One of these shifts, one of these days, it will.

Now some good work from Dandenault gets the puck out to Higgins who draws it in briefly to control and zings it in. Wrister. High slot. Between the circles.

4-0, Montreal. Just over 10 minutes left in the period.

Toronto has lost some composure. It allows Montreal to stand and shoot and look and pass for a minute or two. Finally, the blue team gets some rhythm back and the puck is in the Montreal zone for half a shift. No chances created.

Montreal will now struggle to maintain interest in this game. Let’s see how long that lasts. And if it takes a Toronto goal or two to change it.

Bob Gainey is one of the few NHL head coaches who has been a player with line-change master Scotty Bowman coaching behind him (Jacques Lemaire in Minnesota is another). Direct learning on line-change formulae and machinations might mean some interesting choices in keeping this team’s attention for the rest of this period.

Perhaps some extra minutes for the third and fourth lines?

Metropolit and Laraque drive down and Laraque gets his best scoring chance of the season. Gerber stops the shot. It’s a shot from the slot and Laraque is going full speed as he tries to convert.

Some unfriendliness at the whistle but no fisticuffs.

The KTK magic doesn’t last for long periods in this game, so far.

Plekanec called for slashing.

This team is nothing without Mats Sundin. Those Toronto fans and media who criticized him for not waiving his no-trade at last year’s trade deadline were a factor in his deciding to leave. Goose and the golden egg.

Late in the power-play, Toronto gets a chance to whack at it in front of Halak. But nothing. Earlier Hamilton hit one of those less-harmful posts.

Higgins and Metropolit will kill off the last 12 seconds of the penalty. He isn’t Lang but he is a right-handed centre who can win faceoffs. And he wins this one. Penalty dies and there are about two minutes on the clock.

Kostopoulos fights hard to create and maintain. And it results in a long-term hold in the Toronto zone. But no chances. Canadiens lead is earned but flatters the team somewhat. It’s more a reflection of puck control as opposed to creation of frequent, quality scoring opportunities.

Now Halak is forced to make perhaps his toughest saves of the night. Some hack-at-it attempts.

Halak then makes a great save on a wrap-around but the Leaf pressure draws a Komisarek hooking penalty. He goes to 109 minutes on the season. Three seconds left in the period.

Enough time for a shot if the Leafs win the faceoff. But the puck slips past the blue-line behind Toronto.

Second Intermission

Demers predicts that Latendresse will one day score thirty goals a season. Latendresse is still 21, and Demers likes his puck-protection and skill level. He points out that 13 of his 14 goals have come in even-strength. Bouchard adds that Latendresse has a great attitude.

Bergeron, Morissette and Chantal Machabee appear at a newly fashioned RDS desk. They talk about the first line. Machabee always keeps her intelligence in check. This time it saves these two from an unflattering contrast of savvy. Bergeron tells us that it will be interesting to see what Gainey does with this line in the playoffs.

Yeah. Great.

Third Period

Toronto returns to the power-play. The ice is clean and White’s mustache is like an 80s BC Lions’ fan.

Montreal kills the penalty but Toronto scores a goal at last. Point-shot gets deflected. And goes in. Very Canadian goal.

4-1, Montreal.

Montreal gets a break. Leafs take a very stupid penalty as the Canadiens try to get the puck out of the zone after an icing.

Toronto gets fortunate in return. Three great chances missed by the Canadiens in the first thirty seconds of the power-play. Kovalev misses the empty net, Koivu hits the post and then Koivu later misses one by the side of the net.

Kovalev stays late, feeds Latendresse down low, Latendresse feeds Lapierre. Point-blank goal.

5-1, Montreal.

Grabovski goes to the box. Nobody seems to hate him anymore.

A Leaf loses his stick but Toronto survives that. Kovalev stays late on this power-play again. He feeds Higgins for the best chance of the attack.

Gorges then blasts it in under the cross-bar.

6-1, Montreal.

Stewart takes a penalty. Sneaky tripping on the way down. As if nobody would notice. He needs to unlearn his poor habits. Hit the Leaf as if it was part of his falling motion.

Toronto goes on the power-play.

Grabovski takes out Markov. Back on the hate list. What a fool. Does he have a learning disability? An undiagnosed mental health issue? Elbowed Markov whose face hit the glass directly at high speed. Markov finally gets up.

Nobody really hurts Grabovski too badly. No fight. About seven minutes left.  Grabovski gets boarding, roughing and a ten-minute misconduct.

Leafs score. Short-handed.  Tanguay lost control of the puck. In the Montreal zone.

6-2, Montreal.

Kovalev is on with Lapierre and Latendresse. Just one good chance. Toronto kills the penalty. And just under five minutes left in the game.

Laraque takes a tripping penalty.  Toronto hustles and stays ahead of Montreal with the puck. And Halak has to make a smooth and quick right-to-left save. Montreal kills the penalty with no further grievances.

The Hunter-Wilson people-skills and hockey genius committee looks aggrieved, however.

Time runs out and not much else happens.

HDS Stars: Kovalev, Gorges, Latendresse
RDS Stars: Kovalev, Latendresse, Lapierre

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