Montreal Canadiens versus Florida Panthers

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 (21-21-3) host Florida Panthers (17-19-7)

Thursday, January 7, 2010
Game Forty-Five (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.

First Period

We are still at 0-0 when I join the telecast with just under seven minutes left in the first period. (I slept through my alarm; my afternoon nap got delayed).

The reds are especially bright tonight. The picture is excellent. No, I didn’t finally get that HD TV.

Panthers lead on shots 7-6. Brunet says this is incredible considering that Montreal earlier had a five-on-three advantage for two minutes.

Bryan McCabe shakes his head as he heads to the Florida bench area following a missed shot that goes into the stands. What, we should expect Ray Bourque-type shooting from him from now on? Is that what we should have been expecting all these years? Is that what he expects of himself? After all these years in the league is he still believing what his entourage of relatives and hockey well-wishers pumped him full of in his tween years? Get over it, Prima. Get over it.

Metropolit has it behind Tomas Vokoun (Florida’s starting goaltender). Stickhandles quickly and then is stopped on a reverse wrap-around attempt.

Halak is tumbled on a Florida crease-entry. Puck doesn’t go in, and the referee doesn’t call anything. Lapierre is in on the resulting return rush and the two-on-two results in a backhand shot and a crowd rise in sound.

D’Agostini is in on the next Montreal entry and he fans on the puck after a long trip around the Florida net. Plekanec supports and Markov sets up a beautiful pass that results in a short-side shot attempt.

Gomez line is on next and they are driven back for about five seconds and Florida’s Reinprecht gets a good chance. They move it out, finally. Gionta chases it but isn’t able to do enough to keep it in.

We see the Halak upending and Brunet says it was accidental. Seems so from the replay as well.

Montreal chases the puck into the Florida zone following a faceoff to Halak’s right. Plekanec, with support from Markov, creates some significant pressure.

Florida exits. Reinprecht has it behind the Montreal net. Markov intercepts. Sends Gomez up. Pass to Pouliot cutting to the slot. Shot. Goal.

Montreal 1, Florida 0.

Short-side shot surprises me as it goes in over Vokoun’s right shoulder. Goal comes with about ten seconds left in the period and we close with another Montreal incursion. Horn goes.

Shots on goal are eleven each.

First Intermission

Montreal 1, Florida 0

Caps lead 2-0. Do any of you remember that Dennis Maruk had 60 goals for the Caps in 1981-82? Something I stumbled upon last game.

Joel Bouchard’s suit is charcoal while Alain Crete and Jacques Demers have lighter suit jackets. We are asked who the best player of the past decade is.

Another interview with Benoit Pouliot. It’s his third (or is it fourth?) between-period interview since joining the team.

Second Period

Montreal 1, Florida 0

Opening faceoff is won by Maxim Lapierre who is accompanied by Travis Moen and Marc-Andre Bergeron.

Line change sees Plekanec’ line join the action. Tomas was suggested last telecast as a candidate for the Frank Selke Trophy (awarded annually for the best defensive forward in the NHL). It’s an unexpected suggestion to me but he is certainly having his best NHL season. I think he is more a candidate for the Hart. He wouldn’t win it but his offensive game is very strong this season.

D’Agostini exits; right side. Accelerates well, pauses, passes to the middle for Cammalleri who fires a good high shot that Vokoun has to stop with an extended glove.

Gionta is in next and his screened shot is deflected just wide of the net.

Gionta is in again following a faceoff and he shoots from the circle this time. Vokoun extends a pad to deflect a shot that seemed to be going wide nonetheless.

Three minutes elapsed. Plekanec’ defensive game is excellent, I must add. His faceoffs are up and down but his penalty-kill work is exquisite. As good as Koivu in his prime, at times.

Oreskovich works in the corner to Halak’s left and the Florida presence lasts about four seconds.

Laraque and Metropolit work to keep it in Florida ice.

Houde says that the Canadiens are much more convincing in Florida territory this period.

Gorges chases down a puck and Florida is whistled for icing.

Florida wins a faceoff deep in Montreal territory after some inconsequential action.

And Vokoun freezes the puck soon afterward.

Dominic Moore turns at the side of the Montreal net and sends a backhander in harmlessly towards Halak.

D’Agostini leads another good-looking rush which ends in a pass to Cammalleri. This pass is from the middle to the right and Cammalleri’s shot is gloved. Faceoff.

And then another faceoff after a missed long pass. Markov discusses it calmly with the referee. Newspapers have mentioned that Markov is open to the captaincy and would likely accept it if offered.

Stephen Weiss occupies Brian Gionta in the crease as a puck moves dangerously into the Florida red zone. Blue zone? What. It works and though Weiss falls, Gionta can’t his stick on the puck.

This guy in the Maple Leaf bacon commercial is a great actor. I can’t help but be creeped out by his “Mom, make me and my girlfriend some breakfast” shtick. This one isn’t dubbed and the French version features different actors and is more powerful than the English one. Because of this guy. Guys with curly hair have perceptual disadvantages (and advantages) that the rest of us don’t have.

Neutral zone. Montreal zone. Offside.

Hal Gill has a light beard and something about his expression reminds me of Mike Komisarek tonight.

McCabe gives it away. Then fails to correct it by missing a hit. It results in an incursion by Max Pacioretty who passes short to Georges Laraque who gets it to Metropolit who one-times it off the post. Who? Wow. Laraque was great. Who? Who, who, who. This ain’t the Grinch.

Florida poke-check is sharp on their blue line and restarts the Panthers. Result is a medium-difficulty shot on Halak. He holds on. And another faceoff occurs a few seconds later.

Cammalleri backhands it to D’Agostini around the Montreal end boards. D’Agostini is on this line because Andrei Kostitsyn is still injured.

Ten and a half minutes left in the second period.

Gomez and Gionta create a rush. Shot from the boards is scooped up by Vokoun.

I was watching a game from 1984 the other day and I am here to report that today’s player has a much higher hockey IQ than that era’s. The game is still growing in many significant ways. Analysis is one of the areas. Players are better coached and watch far more film. I think almost none of the players were watching film in 1984.

RDS mentions the February international sports tournament. Winter is going well. And the Olympics (the February international sports tournament) are 36 days away. That means we will be 36 days closer to summer when the torch is lit. Or whatever they do to it. Expunged. Do they light a village on fire?

Laraque line is back on.

Martin is looking like Penguin again. He endures a few facial tics as he looks along the bench in thought.

Icing is waved off. Spacek carries it out.

Plekanec follows it. Cammalleri finds it in the corner. Sends it across the high slot.

I am going to suggest that Mike Cammalleri has a positive influence on his linemates; it’s the only explanation for D’Agostini’s inspired play tonight. It could be something else but, tell you what; I’m going to do my best to find out (don’t you hate it when people say ‘tell you what’?).

Lapierre enters with Gionta. Gorges is nearly caught out on the play as Florida exits. It has an effect as Florida gets a longer presence than usual. Weiss and Horton are working against Markov and Gorges.

Markov seems off somehow. Isn’t chasing on this play. Hesitates. Now Brunet says that he took a stick to the face. Could be it.

Horton gets in. Backhander. Halak gets over to make an important difference-making save.

Should we trade Price instead of Halak? Oy. I wonder.

Faceoff to Halak’s right. Moore is behind the net. To Dvorak. Florida makes it look like a power-play and Halak has to do our taxes for us. Holds it for the faceoff.

Canadiens are stuck in their territory for another five seconds before they manage to get it out. Action returns. Halak comes out of his net to pass it ahead. Montreal gets a mild rush and Vokoun handles a harmless logo shot (shot to his chest crest).

Markov carries it in. Dropped for a Gionta shot. Comes back for another Gionta shot. Now Florida looks gassed and confused. Montreal extends a good possession and then force an icing. Houde calls it a bombardement en regle and wonders if Florida will use their time-out here. They choose not to.

Faceoff and another quick icing by Florida.

Brunet expresses his gladness at Montreal’s play this period.

Lapierre wins the deep faceoff. To the point. Shot. Contained. Vokoun stands and holds it to his chest and we will get yet another faceoff.

Lasik MD gives us a thoroughly amateur commercial and somehow, I appreciate it. It’s cheap and has no manipulative value.

Frolic is carrying it along the boards unchecked. Finally he turns it over. D’Agostini is playing with Ribeiro-like obsession with the puck. Wow. Great work tonight from the kid.

Mara and Gill are working behind the Montreal net.

Stillman and Reinprecht are the problem-causers. They work well and eventually Halak is able to grab the puck and stop play.

Florida enters offside about two neutral-zone sequences later.

Lapierre takes the faceoff against Moore and loses. McCabe shoots it in. Campbell and Dvorak work on the boards to Halak’s right. Montreal moves it out and get into Florida territory but can’t maintain control.

Just under two minutes left in the period.

Dvorak’s shot goes up into the crowd. Faceoff.

Plekanec versus Weiss. Florida comes up with the puck. Leopold to Ballard along the Montreal blue line.

Puck is moved out. D’Agostini chases it with the purpose of a Koivu. What in a bottle is going on? Genie in a bottle? Confiance in a bottle? Cammalleri in a bottle? Whatever it is, D’Agostini is playing the best game of his career.

Montreal takes a penalty and the final thirty seconds of this period will be spent a man down by Montreal.

First pairing gets some good control deep in Florida territory to kill it. Moen. Typical Moen. Great work.

Period ends.

Florida’s coach has a Doug Doerksen demeanour and I appreciate his calm. Doerksen is a legendary Saskatchewan player who never made it to the bigs for mysterious reasons.

Second Intermission

Montreal 1, Florida 0

Alain Crete asks Jacques about player attitudes. He remarks that both Marc-Andre Bergeron and Benoit Pouliot were labeled as attitude problems in prior NHL cities but that both are playing well in Montreal. Jacques responds emphatically by saying that it’s easy to judge people from a distance.

We see some highlights of Pouliot’s good work tonight. I would suggest that when some players get traded they realise they are not untouchable or that their tenure in a given league might be approaching an end; an end where they may get labeled as a problem player. Or they read their reviews and realise they are not so well-loved after all. Then they shape up. I’m not sure if this applies to either Pouliot or Bergeron but it is typical of Demers to strongly emphasize the positives. In this case, it may be to a fault.

Regardless, it is good to see both players doing well in Montreal. It’s a great city if you are a Francophone playing well. It’s slightly less great if you are a non-Francophone playing well. But I am told that it is still quite good.

Ah, Montreal.

Third Period

Montreal 1, 0

Hal Gill’s penalty still has one minute and twenty seconds remaining. Weiss, Horton and Frolic are supported by McCabe.

Hamrlik stops Weiss on the boards. Florida keeps it. Frolic is on the boards. The passing begins. Horton gets a shot from the point. Halak stops it.

Stillman is on the second wave.

Mara is on with Gorges. Gomez and Gionta are the second pairing for Montreal.

Stillman gets a shot from the side. Puck nearly escapes but Ballard keeps it in.

Gomez intercepts a pass but loses it to Horton. Shot from the side. Stillman. Stopped and covered. Stillman was hoping to create something and his face shows his frustration.

Montreal kills the rest of the penalty.

Hamrlik is sending Plekanec in. Lost puck

Oreskovich gets in and curls to the slot and shoots. Stopped by Halak who was in position ahead of the play.

Gill nails a Florida forward on the left coming into the Montreal zone. Puck goes the other way. Vokoun stops it. Faceoff.

On the replay we see D’Agostini get taken down by Florida defenceman Bryan Allen, who is a big dude. People love knocking D’Agostini to the ice. He is ok.

Gomez wins the faceoff. Markov idles toward the blue line and then sends the puck to his defence partner who fires it in (Gorges).

Gomez and Gionta enter very close to one another. It doesn’t backfire and they keep it in along the boards.

Seidenberg carries it out after some long angles fail in the Montreal passing game.

Spacek does some great work to pokecheck a pass. Montreal’s defence is playing very well.

Cammalleri enters. Shot high. Vokoun handles it. Now D’Agostini is behind the Florida net. Cammalleri cycles it to himself. Shot. Now it goes to the point. Mara shoots it.

Finally Reinprecht backchecks far enough to support his defensive. The action is excellent from both teams. Smart hockey with purpose and passion. It’s a rhythm I wonder if I’ve seen from the two against one another.

Some teams match up in a way that creates a hardy, intelligent and fast game. Tonight we are seeing that.

Two-on-one for Florida. Markov gets a stick on it and it goes into the stands. Or the seats, I guess.

At the intermission, RDS interviewed Montreal assistant coach Perry Pearn who said that he likes the way the Canadiens are playing tonight. He remarked particularly on their defensive play.

Gionta is cruising slowly in the slot. Puck doesn’t get to him.

Why is it relevant to post a player’s birthplace on a team’s website? Does the NBA do it? The NFL?

This league has such a complex about ethnicity. Just celebrate your stars no matter where they’re from.

Weiss’ quick-stepping blades exploit an opening. Quick pass to his left. Shot. Stopped. Very close.

Florida gets another incursion and long shot from the point. Pace increases slightly. Eleven minutes and eleven seconds left in the period.

Some members of the crowd try and get a chant going. They fail.

Action is even more crisp. It’s January. The action is better. Is this the month where a player’s body is still strong enough, not broken down by eighty-two games and where the chemistry is good enough that the hockey is best? I wonder.

D’Agostini is working hard (yup, still) along the deep Florida boards. Loses it. Montreal is back in quickly, though. Cammalleri is in possession.

More good work. Canadiens manage to keep it in and control despite line changes. Outstanding.

A puck scrum. I wait for it to pop out at the side for Lapierre. It stays amongst skates, sticks and striped legs. Vokoun gets it. Whistle. Close.

Martin Brodeur is picked as the greatest player of the last decade. What a joke. Above-average goalie, at best. He gets far too much adulation. I wonder if he believes it.

Lapierre takes the faceoff to Vokoun’s right. Florida wins. Canadiens keep it in. Lapierre does the bulk of the work. Moen supports and Lapierre has three touches of significance on the sequence.

Whistle.

Muller slaps Lapierre on the back. The team is playing excellent hockey. The gaps between excellent hockey moments are growing smaller and smaller. The moments are very inclusive and seem to be rising, as well.

Team.

Just over eight minutes.

McCabe is behind his net. I realise that I’ve been watching enough hockey to get to a new level as I recognize McCabe just by the way he moves. Five straight years of hockey-watching is paying off. I have to chuckle. Hopefully I can apply what I’ve learned in a way that benefits somebody. Analysis is an important art and I’m hoping the subject isn’t as important as the lessons in methodology.

Florida is in the crease. Halak is ready. They whang away. But only two whacks.

Gomez could have been called but he gets a free pass. Did something to Ballard. Houde remarks that tonight the Canadiens are getting unusually fair treatment from the refs. The perception is that Montreal has had some badly reffed games this season. That’s what Houde seems to imply to me, anyway.

I think the reffing has been the best in years.

Montreal pressure moves Vokoun to his stomach and spins a few defenceman like Coleco toys. But nobody in red, white and blue can control the skittering, accelerating puck well enough to get a shot into the maw.

Whistle.

Gomez line is on. Gomez loses the faceoff. Seidenberg and McCabe combine to drive the puck into Montreal ice. Halak fires it out from behind his net.

McCabe and Seidenberg combine well to move the puck out yet again.

Seidenberg and Horton work on the left side in Montreal ice. On Montreal ice? Along Montreal ice? Over Montreal ice?

Lapierre gets down. Right side. Around. The net. To the other side. Across the puck goes. Just missed. Lapierre continues his excellent work. Lapierre is noticeably better tonight than he was throughout most of December.

Just over three minutes left in a game that feels like it should have more. I did start late tonight. But this period has slipped by quite quickly. After all the stops in the first and second, it is a welcome change.

Icing against Florida.

Metropolit and Pacioretty are working with Moen to keep the puck occupied. Weiss is chasing Metropolit as he enters the Florida zone.

Minute and twenty. Florida pulls their goalie. I feel nothing but confidence.

Plekanec falls over a stick. No call. Houde is surprised.

Florida gets a great chance. Best scoring chance of either team this period. Halak is there, on his knees and in position.

Gionta gets it at centre ice. Shoots. Net.

Montreal 2, Florida 0.

Brunet says there wasn’t much rhythm in this game and that it was a strange game. I agree. But the third period was very good.

It’s Gionta’s tenth goal. Patted helmets and smiles on the Montreal bench. Just over thirty seconds left.

They resume. Pouliot and Gomez are on as Florida keeps their goalie pulled. They retain control and move the puck around but can’t get as hot.

Laraque skates over to congratulate Halak. Martin exhales. Canadiens win.

Montreal played a very good defensive game. One of their best of the season. And two passengers became drivers.

Lots of players to choose from for stars. From both teams.

Montreal 2
Florida 0

HDS Stars: Roman Hamrlik, Stephen Weiss, Maxim Lapierre
RDS Stars: Jarsolav Halak, Tomas Vokoun, Benoit Pouliot

L’Antichambre is much better without Alain Chantelois and we haven’t had to endure his diatribes for most of the season. PJ Stock is on again tonight and he is a good addition. He has the balancing view and he isn’t afraid to voice his opinion. I have to admit, he has grown on me. I like that he listens and he has grown over the seasons.