Buffalo Sabres Versus Montreal Canadiens

Musings and In-Game Scribbles

My English is as good as yours, I just write these in a stream-of-consciousness mode that I insist excuses me from small things like rules of grammar or general etiquette. Let’s call it conversational English, hopped up on beans. You know what kind of beans (no, Carl Mellesmoen, not the magic ones)

Montreal Canadiens (12-13-2) visit Buffalo Sabres (15-7-2)
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Game Twenty-Eight (score posted following scribbles)
Musings and In-Game Scribbles are a “live blogging” of the game that are compiled (typed, actually) during the game and edited and posted shortly after the game.

Andrei Kostitsyn is back from injury and Jaroslav Halak will be starting his first game tonight in several games.

Ian Walsh and Mike Leggo are the referees tonight as the team visits the Sabres in Buffalo.

First Period

Walsh falls and is slow to get to his skates.  He got hit by a puck.  Referees don’t wear padding under their uniforms.  Or so I am led to believe.  He will stay.  The NHL has a back-up official for cases of injury.  Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned the referees prior to the game.  Hmm.

Kostitsyn sends Cammalleri in on a favourable angle and Cammalleri’s shot is a good one.  But no goal.

RDS’ play-by-play impresario says that the Canadiens are searching desperately for goals.

Sabres enter with Hecht creating down the right side.  Puck moves quickly from Sabre to Sabre and Hecht gets a great chance in front of Halak.  Sabres continue with perimeter passes and then a nice long diagonal pass to the right of Halak.  A defender blocks the next good Sabres chance.

Sabres continue their strong presence and the next line scores.  McArthur on a backhander closing to the crease.  Very nice goal and great puck movement from the disciplined and pro’s pro Sabres.

Buffalo 2, Montreal 0.

Sabres take the puck in yet again and get good control.  This time Halak holds the puck for a faceoff.

Organ is sibilant prior to the next faceoff which the Sabres win.  Montreal gets control on the right side of their zone and Cammalleri, Kostitsyn and Plekanec are together and responding.  Gorges keeps it in.  Plekanec loses it near the blue line and it dribbles out.  Another entry by the Canadiens follows but doesn’t last.

Gomez in.  To Spacek.  Long blast, loud splack sound as it goes wide to the left of Miller and hits the boards or glass.

Pace is led by the Sabres; adroit, tight passing.  They work along the boards and finally the Canadiens muck it out.  They are stopped in the middle of the rink but take the puck back.  The entry that follows is stopped without passes or shots occurring and moments later the puck is out of play in the Montreal zone.  Faceoff to the right of Halak.

Sabres win it.  Canadiens’ Lapierre line is on and they are in a watching mode.  Lapierre finds a spot where he doesn’t have to do much.  Does it all the time, guys.  And it’s not a forward waiting for the pass to the hash.  It’s more than that.  When the puck gets near him, his self-perceived aura or circle of responsibility shrinks.  And is small to start with.

Shot.  Gloved.  Faceoff to the right of Halak.

Plekanec is in on the right.  Long pass to Hamrlik who shoots wide.

Buffalo exits.  Fast.  One pass.  It’s in.  Backhand.  Rebound goes the other way.  It’s whacked to a higher speed.  The net gapes.  It accepts the puck.

Buffalo 2, Montreal 0

Houde and Brunet agree that the team came out well early and that there’s been a marked drop very quickly (after the early Cammalleri incursion).

Six and a half minutes gone in the first period.

Commercial.  I want Buffalo to fight to keep the Bills.  The NFL in Toronto is just not a good idea.  For anyone.  Especially the CFL.  And, what, is this city going to support NFL football?  The attendance figures for NFL exhibition games would indicate otherwise.  And the NFL requires a minimum 76,000 seat stadium.  Who’s going to pay for that?  Me?  The taxpayers?  Not after the White Elephant Skydome debacle.  No thanks.  Cities should never pay for stadia.  There is no benefit for the community; the side-revenue argument has been proved invalid.  And the owners pocket the profits and throw bones to the community.  It’s not my way of running a city.

Canadiens get some pressure on the ensuing segment.

Metropolit line is on as another faceoff occurs to the right of Miller.  On the other end Halak slows the play, too, gloving a puck that slides Sabre-less, to his left.

Andrei Kostitsyn receives a surprise puck to Miller’s right but can’t convert.

Pominville from the deep left corner, quick pass.  Big maw goal.  Brunet says Halak is not at fault.  Puck stretched across three Canadiens and one goalie.

Buffalo cares.  Montreal doesn’t.  Montreal doesn’t care enough to work hard.  I’m sure they feel badly about the score, sure.  But feeling bad is not enough.  You have to do something.  Oh, I’m so sorry, oh I’m so sorry.  Sponge that.

Buffalo 3, Montreal 0

Sergei Kostitsyn is in.  It doesn’t last more than three seconds.  Bergeron is telling others what to do and where to go and misses the puck a moment later.  Pay attention.  On-ice hubris.  From a player that makes plenty of mistakes in the Montreal zone.

Metropolit blocks a Derek Roy shot to save Halak from another puck melee.

The score still doesn’t take away from the delight of seeing the team play against the Sabres.  Always a seventies pleasure.  Crowd knows its hockey, organ is playing and it sounds more like a hockey rink here than in most other NHL Cathedrals.  You can almost smell the game.

Buffalo continues to show the Canadiens how this game is played.  They skate with a sense of urgency and add the extra one or two moves with the puck to keep it in play.  Without the puck, they chase, not for show, but for possession.

White ice crystals in the hourglass say just under seven minutes and Houde says what I notice; the game is trickling away quickly.  Houde and Brunet share a chuckle.

No penalties and great hockey from the Sabres while your buddies watch.

Guys that care on Montreal?  And do something more than sorry?  Moen, Metropolit, Halak, Plekanec, Hamrlik and Gorges come to mind.

D’Agostini is on the ice.  Expect a lot of pretending to catch up to the play.  Lapierre, same.  At least tonight.  The enigmatic Alex Kovalev?  How about the enigmatic Maxim Lapierre?  Which Max do we get tonight?  Where are the clarion calls?  Where are the La Presse trumpets?  Pantaloons.  Which Alex, which Max, which Alex, which Max.

Sabres enter on a three-on-two that becomes a three-on-three as Pyatt finds his way back to cover the third winger on the far side.

Pominville is on the ice again.  With Roy.  Just under four minutes.

Buffalo’s Tyler Myers flips it forward but can’t find a forward.

Kaleta moves the puck forward and it reaches Halak who flops awkwardly to play it on his stomach.  He makes the puck skitter to his left.  Roy is in now.  Montador led him.  This incursion is interrupted.

Line one is on for Montreal.  A Plekanec shot from a sharp angle and a distance hits a stick and revolves skyward.  And we get a whistle.  And we get a commercial for one of the worst beers in the world.  Not just North America.  Coors.  And not just Coors, but Coors Light.  Any beer that needs promotion isn’t going to taste good.

Lindy Ruff is looking his usual one eyebrow self.  Larry Bird moustache, Gregg Popovich demeanour and a brown suit with orange tie (you knew I had to say something about that).

Minute and a half left in the period.

Mara moves it up and is floated to his right by a forechecking Sabre.

Buffalo has it as Gomez and Cammalleri hop on the ice.  Cammalleri follows the puck-carrier but doesn’t do much else to lift the puck.  Picking and choosing.  Deciding when the great effort is needed.  When you’re on the ice, you have forty seconds of duty.  To the puck.  To the game.  To your team.  To your city.  To us all.  Ah, that’s too bad, ain’t it?

Commercial.  Hard alcohol this time.  Drug.

Maybe some guys should be reduced to volunteer status on this team.

Period ends.  Montreal is outshot 15-3.  This time the numbers are eloquent.

First Intermission
Buffalo 3, Montreal 0

Question Dodge; Which of the following three coaches have you most admired since the seventies: Scotty Bowman, Pat Burns, Jacques Demers?  They should have asked, “Which one did you fear most”?

Ashtray.

Interviewee is Jason Pominville.  His French is perfect.

Second Period
Buffalo 3, Montreal 0

Canadiens have likely been told, very briefly, probably by Kirk Muller, that they are getting outworked.  They come out early and get a quick chance.  Pass to Kostitsyn in front but he fans on it.  Another Hab connects but it is stopped.

The more I watch this game the more conservative I get.  Maybe hard work is just better than anything else; creativity, talent and so forth.  Just get me 18 pluggers.

Problem is pluggers have linebacker hands.  That’s why they aren’t allowed to play fullback.

Eighteen linebackers.  Acceuillons.  Vos.  Canadiens!

Montreal’s effort is better.  But still doesn’t match the Sabres’.

Pominville bounces a one-timer off the top of Halak’s right pad.

Nice job helping your backup goaltender.  Seven, eight, maybe ten, maybe twelve guys are picking and choosing their times to exert and when to relax.  It’s an art.  Like the cab driver who catches all the reds and pretends he’s driving the Queen’s Cadillac stretch and slows for every speed bump.  Wow.  What an important vehicle you must own, sir.  Are you protecting your expensive shock absorbers?

Sabres score.  Halak made an error.  Sabres epitomize East hockey.  Fast.  Hardy.  On, on, on.  No matter what.  Every time I see them.  Great team.  Great organization.

Buffalo 4, Montreal 0.

No.  No, I did not enjoy typing that.

Five minutes elapsed.

I think Lafleur could get us ten goals.  Gainey could play about eight minutes a game, I’d say.  Chelios is still available and hasn’t even retired.  Doesn’t Gretzky have a soft spot for Montreal?

[Insert verbal intensifier]

Even Gomez has given up.  Didn’t think I’d see that.  He gives it away and does little to make up for it.  Then he confirms his feelings by giving a cosmetic effort in the corner to the right of Halak.  It’s subtle.  You can disagree.  I have all sorts of internet presence for you to disagree with me.

This is why you can’t let Saku go.

Oh.

Buffalo sees a chance to rest, as well.  Game reduces to a haphazard state.  Plenty of time to score four goals.  Six.  But even less Canadiens care to do enough to do so.  What a waste of our time.  How much did the flight cost to get these guys to the city?  How much was spent on food?  What do you suppose the electricity bill is here tonight?

Michael Jordan said he would find a reason to play hard every night; one favourite was “there could be someone in the arena tonight who’s never seen me play; this is the only chance I get to make an impression”.  Good attitude.  Yeah, he was obsessive; the cigars, the golf, the bets, the first so-called “retirement” but the kid played hard.  Every ding-dong night.  Every ding-dong night.

How many Sabre fans tonight are seeing Maxim Lapierre, Matt D’Agostini, Mike Cammalleri, Andrei Kostitsyn and Ryan O’Byrne for the first time tonight?  “Did you get that, Sergei?”

Well, Sergei hasn’t been bad tonight.  But there’s no harm in reminding.

Nine minutes left and we see another stoppage in play.

Every time I see D’Agostini’s face, I’m irritated.  He reminds me of the student that won’t study and won’t make any effort to improve.

I stop typing and start picking out the effortless.  I may have yelled once or twice at this inanimate object called a television.  Just shaking my head.  If you can’t care go be complacent where everyone else doesn’t care, either.  Go play in California.

Buffalo power-play.

I like us playing short-handed.  At least I know all four guys on the ice will care.  Because that’s who Martin will put on.  The ones that do.  Plekanec is on the first pairing.

Tyler Myers is a big man.  He’s listed at 6 foot eight and 222 pounds.  He wears number 57 for the Sabres and is on the blue line for this power-play.  (He’s a defenceman)

You know, I wonder if I would change the defenders on a power-play at all.  Just keep the same pairing on for the whole thing.  Just a thought.

Montreal survives the penalty.  I don’t feel like mentioning that Gomez made it onto the second pairing.  He had much more jump, though.

Sergei and Gomez on a two-on-two.  Sergei carries it over the line.  Looks to pass.  Looks to the net.  Passes.  Gomez gets it.  Controls.  Shoots.  In.  Nicely done.

Buffalo 4, Montreal 1

It’s Gomez’ third goal of the season.  He is assist-heavy this season but it’s still just three goals.  I’ll try and stay objective.  I’ll try.

I’m trying.

Just over two minutes left in the period.

Sabre fans are booing and whistling.  Not sure why.  Houde doesn’t clarify either.

Mike Grier is winding down his career in Buffalo.  He’s thirty-five.  He takes a shot late and the period ends soon afterward.

Team has a lot of hang-dog head-lolling to them as they exit.

Buffalo outshoots Montreal 14-5 for a total of 29 to 8.

Second Intermission
Buffalo 4, Montreal 1

Joel Bouchard shows us the team’s breakdowns in their own zone and beyond.

Third Period
Buffalo 4, Montreal 1

Canadiens start well.  Houde asks why we might not have seen such stamping earlier in the game.

When the team isn’t committed; read the ads on the boards, memorize the repetitive commercials and add your own terrible tones of voice, Read the stick brands of each player.  Just a few things I picked up in recent times watching the Canadiens.  Last period.

Pyatt goes to the box.

Connelly takes a shot after a lot of slow back and forth passing from the Sabres.  Sergei Kostitsyn and Scott Gomez lead a three-man Hab incursion on this penalty-kill.  Good chance.  Stopped.  Play continues.

Now Lapierre leads a two-on-one and keeps it for a shot with White racing and waiting on the right side.  Shot is stopped and kept for a faceoff.

Twenty-five seconds left in the penalty and sixteen minutes in the game.

Plekanec interrupts the last Buffalo wave.

And now he has it a la Guy Carbonneau behind Miller’s net.  Just taking pucks away and giving a hoot.

Penalty ends.

Kostitsyn enters and shoots.  Off-wing shot.  Turned away by Edwards.  I mean Miller.  Miller has Hasek-type numbers this season.  Great athlete.  Great goalie, too.

As for me, I’m having plum tomatoes with pesto.  Hoot, hoot!

Sergei can’t get to a lead pass but remains tenacious.  He is roaming the neutral zone looking for trouble.  The good kind.

Lapierre is on the ice with Pyatt now.  Pominville makes an entry soon thereafter.  Lapierre is playing lax this period, too.  He got passing grades in October and most of November but no.  Not anymore.

Buffalo’s Tim Connolly looks like Shayne Corson.

Bergeron makes a Kovie-like entry.  Beats two guys and then loses the puck soon after crossing the blue line.

Tim Kennedy enters for Buffalo now.  Stickhandles with ambition.  Loses it.

Pace has slowed again.  Big blue Buffalo balloon punctured.  I can hear the air leaving this ice surface.

The game floats along with under twelve minutes left.

Puck goes behind Halak.  Everything looks slow motion.  And then the puck appears happily and sudden.  In Halak’s crease.  Crowd jumps in a human exclamation point behind the net and glass.   Puck rolled just to the line where a diving Canadien reached to bat it away.  Like Batman saving a girl’s big blue Buffalo balloon.

Jochen Hecht gets called.

The balloon is becoming more important.

But Montreal can’t set up.

They do get control and over the remaining minute they keep it in Buffalo airspace.  And get some chances.  But the penalty is killed.

We return to five-on-five.

Gorges scores.

Swoop.  Defender aiding Avenger.

Buffalo 4, Montreal 2.

Gorges has a Todd Hansen post-tackle expression on his face as he sips water on the bench.  Looking to his right as he does.  It’s his second goal of the year.  Todd Hansen is a legendary, perhaps fictitious football player of the deep north woods.  A guy that everyone thought would go to Notre Dame on a scholarship but disappeared for ten years.  He turned up in the bush where he had been living off the land, hunting deer and living in a log cabin.

He got right down the middle and into the crease and swept a puck in.  Gallant.

Canadiens are enthused.  Set up in Buffalo airspace.  Passing.  Shot from the point.  Stopped.  Scuffle.  Buffalo takes exception to something for the first time in the game.

Canadiens win the faceoff.  To Spacek.  He sends a black space-egg down.  All velocity and teak rubber intentions.  Another faceoff.

Kostitsyn is playing better than Cammalleri.  First time this season.  Didn’t think I’d type that.  It’s happening.  Mr. Hyde’s chemicals.

Buffalo ends the game.  Sekera.

Replay.  Pass to the point.  From the bottom of the bowl.  Sekera tees it up.  Slaps it in.  It deflected.  Game over.

Buffalo 5, Montreal 2

Just under seven minutes left.

Look, if the team gave a hoot, maybe I’d say there’s a chance.  But there are, once again, too many passengers on this team.

We should have kept Kostopoulos and Koivu.  And Dandenault.  Well, I know nothing (or just over nothing) of the behind-the-scenes goings-on but I know those guys cared on the ice.  Bouillon and Brisebois cared, too.

It’s like being in a goal-judge Jim Carey human fish-tank.  Laugh it up, Riddler.  It’s not easy being a Montreal fan, either.  Both Jim Careys.  Ok?

Don’t you hate it when people end sentences with “ok”?  Don’t you?  Don’t you?  I know you do.  Ok?

Don’t you hate it when people start their sentences with “don’t you hate it when…”?  Don’t you?  Won’t you?  Ok?  [Insert emotional verbal intensifier]

Just under five minutes.

Gomez line.  Chasing.  Some good short passes from Montreal before the chasing began including a drop-pass from Spacek to Hamrlik.  They get along well.  Two Czechs.  Yeah, yeah.

Whistle.  Good organ work.

There should be double-headers.  I want a Montreal win.  Or at least some shimmering axe and grim arrows.

Mara and Kaleta get into a fight.  Houde says that Kaleta is a little disturber.  You know.  Brunet says that some players are stupid.  Brunet says that it’s ok that Mara kept punching Kaleta after Kaleta went down.  I laugh boisterously.  Brunet says some guys deserve it.  Or words to that effect.  Brunet’s unapologetic and matter-of-fact tone are what set me off.  I don’t doubt Brunet, either.  Kaleta is what he is.

Mara did keep hitting him after Kaleta hit the ice on his back.  It wasn’t a fight for show.  It was a fight for glow.  The red welt glow.

One minute left.

Crowd responds to the announcement.  Houde says it’s another game to forget for the Canadiens.

Buffalo scores.  A last bouquet for the dateless bridesmaid.  Beautiful goal.  Vanek to Grier on an almost pure two-on-one.

Period Ends.

Buffalo 6
Montreal 2

HDS Stars: Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy
RDS Stars: Jason Pominville, Derek Roy, Tyler Myers

Guy Carbonneau, Jacques Demers and Michel Therrien are the only guests on the Anti-Chamber tonight.  They are going to talk about having coached in Montreal and analyse tonight’s game.

Related posts:

1. Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres
2. Montreal Canadiens vs Boston Bruins
3. Montreal Canadiens versus Buffalo Sabres
4. Montreal Canadiens vs Carolina Hurricanes
5. Montreal Canadiens vs Buffalo Sabres
6. Montreal Canadiens versus Ottawa Senators