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 (25-23-5) visit Florida Panthers (22-21-9) … Scree-oww!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Game Fifty-Four (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. Usually the RDS telecast of the game.

Benoit Brunet tells us that the difference between Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak is a question of maturity. He states that Price has more talent but that Halak’s greater maturity has many benefits including being able to more quickly bounce back from a goal against.

The debate has been gaining participants over recent weeks and the majority fan view seems to be that the Canadiens should trade Price and not Halak. Both are young goaltenders and conventional thinking says that if both goalies on a team are young and have starting capabilities that one needs to go. The theory then suggests the team replace this vacancy with a veteran player who can play the role of mentor and won’t be too upset with less starts than the remaining goalie.

The numbers being used to support Price’s departure are comparisons of the two goalies’ respective save percentages and won-loss records. Both numbers are not reliable evaluators of goaltending performance and more reflective of macro level team performance. From this couch in Toronto, the opinion is that both goaltenders are performing almost equally with a slight edge to Price due to a higher percentage of stops on quality chances.

The rest, whether the team plays harder for Halak or resents Price or either’s maturity level, is worth debating, I suppose. And I will leave most of that alone. The better athlete will get the chance to mature. The better athlete will be worked with until all options are exhausted. That is the pro maxim and another general theory.

Ultimately, the hockey decisions will be made by the hockey people. Or the hockey department as Bob Gainey sometimes refers to it.

Halak and Vokoun are your opposing goaltenders tonight. I will be your wordsmith.

First Period

Canadiens are in a quiet, seemingly darkly lit arena and they win the initial faceoff at centre ice. Martin is in a slate grey suit and Tomas Vokoun is a leftie (so he holds his stick in his left hand and his glove hand, uh, well you may know already).

Corey Stillman and Stephen Weiss cycle the puck in Montreal territory.

Whistle.

We see the lineups and learn that Mara and Andrei Kostitsyn remain absent for Canadiens tonight.

Gionta is on. He is accompanied by Gomez at centre and the blooming Pouliot. Some ten goals in his last thirteen games. Latendresse is doing very well in Minnesota, too. The two were exchanged some weeks back.

Montreal’s Lapierre line is on.

Canadiens’ Ben Maxwell is wearing #61; he was recently called up from Hamilton. Max Pacioretty and Matt D’Agostini have both been sent down.

Sergei receives a pass, cruises down the middle and his backhander from the mid-slot goes wide.

Plekanec line is on.

Plekanec passes to Cammalleri who dumps it in. Moen can’t come up with it in the corner.

Panthers have it. Frolik sends it to the slot. No sticks alert.

Gionta leads a rush out and down the right side.

Shot from the point follows. Puck slides across the line in front of the Florida net. Nobody can convert.

Panthers rush. They control. Stick is broken. They get a pass to Leopold on the point. His shot is wide and the Canadiens push it out for a time.

Lapierre is taking a breather on the backcheck again. He’s very interested in the offensive part of the game. Bad habits.

Puck is returned and Halak holds it for a whistle.

Replay shows Pouliot putting his stick broomstick style between his legs for a forehand shot. Subtle move; skilled move reminiscent of Vincent Lecavalier’s abilities. He of the Lightning and the bolt on his chest.

Plekanec chases it into the corner. Applies a body check. Whistle goes. Bryan Allen and Travis Moen eye each other sticks held at waist level. Nothing further occurs.

Faceoff is to Vokoun’s left. Florida wins but a clear attempt by Seidenberg fails.

Vokoun is forced to stay alert as a Montreal shot raises voices.

Florida has a brief, inconsequential entry.

Canadiens are back in. Puck goes to Spacek. Wide. Exit results.

Just under twelve minutes in the first.

Skating pace increases. Gomez gets a gift puck and moves in with it.

But they get away with it.

Puck is behind the Montreal net.

Gomez line exits. Sergei is with him. They go offside.

Car ads promote pollution and continued dependence on an antiquated technology. Get rid of them. We’ve got plenty of space for wind turbines in this country. And solar panels. Remember that ninety percent of all Canadians live within about 100 miles of and along the US border. Lots of space. Aren’t we tired of being dependent on foreign energy sources? Aren’t we? Electric and solar cars, need I spell it out?

Spacek is on the bench contemplating his missed shot.

O’Byrne and Gill are paired and they both help clear up a, um, misunderstanding following the whistle. The message is clear. And supported by two other Canadien non-defencemen.

Plekanec wins the ensuing faceoff.

Puck goes out of play over the player bench seconds later.

Cammalleri is smiling and chatting with a game official.

Plekanec loses this faceoff and the Panthers start out from behind their net after the puck floops back to Vokoun.

Allen misses a from-the-circle chance moments later. And then an arm goes up. Montreal is called for holding.

Martin’s face twists in aggravation.

Plekanec held. Weiss exaggerated it a bit.

Eight and a half minutes left in the first.

Panthers are slow to enter. McCabe contributes by giving Gionta the puck on an eight-yard gaffe. Then the puck goes out of play as Florida crosses the Montreal blue line.

Lapierre takes and loses the faceoff against Steven Reinprecht. Habs clear it within two sticks.

Forty-five seconds left in the penalty.

Panthers pass it twice to get it to the opposite point but the puck goes outside the zone. Offside.

Gill is more aggressive than I’ve seen him in a Montreal uniform. He skates to the boards during the penalty-kill and takes the body with greater abandon than normal. (Normal while in a Montreal uniform.) Enforcer and NHL heavyweight champion George Laraque’s recent dismissal for “not doing what he was brought in to do” (fight like a pirate) has affected others. And regardless of the reason, his absence obliges the tougher members of this team to increase the aggression. Such is the perception in this quaint league; a sometimes time capsule statement from 1975.

Plekanec enters and his wrister nearly fools Vokoun. Looking one way, shooting the other. Vokoun makes a kick save (also a time-capsule event).

Whistle.

And then, after another ten seconds, another whistle.

Faceoff outside Montreal ice is won by Metropolit. He is accompanied by Bergeron and Sergei (Kostitsyn, of course).

Flow back to the white side. The good side. The Montreal side.

Puck is in the crease. Floating. Halak let it get away. No Florida player can get close to it. Two Canadiens were there as well.

Stillman shoots one sequence later and Halak makes a good save.

Crowd whistles and cheers a bit more than their soda pop chatter. They resume slurping their nine-dollar beverages as the action returns to Florida ice.

Darche loses the puck to Weiss on the right side of Halak. No harm done.

Now Darche is circling the net for a wrap-around on the other end. But Vokoun is well ahead of that kind of play.

Just over two minutes left.

Florida is controlling well. Longest fives possession of the evening. Lines change soon afterward and Montreal resumes control.

Metropolit is behind Vokoun. Waiting. Stickhandling in that quick method-man style. Finds Sergei. Dangerous shot. Florida corrects their positioning and exits.

Sergei was hanging high and then closed to the bottom of the circle.

Whistle soon after the Florida exit.

Montreal gets a bull rush from Pouliot but he is stopped.

Ten seconds. Frolic shoots. Wide.

From the point another shot. Also wide.

Just under one second. Whistle. Penalty. Brunet keeps repeating “0.8 seconds”. Markov.

Panthers win the faceoff. To the slot. Just what they wanted. Time runs out.

Shots on goal are in favour of Florida 9-6.

First Intermission
Florida 0, Montreal 0

Caps are up 5-1 against the Long Islanders.

We’ll be interviewing Ted Nolan next week, speaking of the Islanders. He’s the Vice-GM (or some such opulent –and deserved- title) with the Rochester Americans. That’s a minor league team. He last coached the Islanders in the NHL. He’s from the Sault and he’s the only Native Canadian head coach in NHL history.

Former Canadiens defenceman Sheldon Souray is on the market, Alain Crete says. Souray has a list of teams he is interested in, we are told.

Demers says that Price has the demeanour of a number one goalie. His confidence. He says it emphatically. Demers used to coach in the NHL, some of you may not know. He coached in St. Louis, Detroit and Montreal and Tampa Bay. He was the head coach for Montreal’s most recent Stanley Cup win in the spring of 1993. Just thought you oughta know.

Second Period
Florida 0, Montreal 0

Florida opens with a near-two minute power-pay. Remember Markov’s penalty?

Panthers get the early control. Frolic and Still man work on the left side. Puck goes to McCabe on the point. One shot. Florida regains control.

Now a pass and shot to Weiss.

Halak makes the save.

Plekanec beats a Panther to the side boards and clears the puck.

Gomez hops on the ice in tie for a flotation puck at the red line. Two Panthers are back and poke it away.

Panthers try one last chance. Repelled without thought.

Now Sergei finds Markov streaking out of the box. Just too far.

Pouliot line jumps on.

Spacek fires the puck out of the zone. Plekanec grabs it at the opposing blue line.

Panthers recover. Bryan Allen starts the Florida attack but one long pass too many ends that possession.

Halak exits the net to intercept the next Florida shoot-in.

Cammalleri and Gomez work to create a shot for the mini-Champ. Nope.

New line. Markov pinches (when the defender comes in deeper than usual, often past the hash marks on the opposition circles).

Gorges keeps it in on the other side.

Weiss line exits. Bad pass across the middle and the puck hops up and onto Montreal sticks.

Neutral zone. Curls and leaning. Puck goes out of play.

Markov is grimacing lightly as he sits on the bench.

Panthers make a graceful exit. Good pass from right to left. Medium-long shot is handled easily by Halak.

Lapierre chases the puck into Florida ice.

Darche rolls along the top of the zone. Gets the puck. Fires.

Two-on-one almost happens for Darche but the puck refuses to follow him, laughs Houde.

Vokoun is athletic but unorthodox. Reminds me of Tim Thomas. I recall thinking that for the first time in the most recent Florida game.

Hamrlik shakes his head on the bench. Huge cut under his left eye. He got a stick to the face on the previous shift. Accidental but careless swing of the composite.

Another whistle. Florida games are full of whistles.

Thirteen and a half minutes left in the second period.

Whistle yet again.

There has to be a site that tracks that stat.

Darche from Moen. Continues down the right side and into the Florida corner.

Stillman enters, covered and an additional defender a bit lower. He leans suddenly and fires. Wide and Halak gloves it.

Whistle.

Florida wins the faceoff. Puck goes to the point.

Canadiens exit.

Blue line feels different without Mara around. He is an experienced steady player to.

Markov enters. Moves down. Past the end line. Sends it to the slot. Weiss tops the pas for Pouliot.

Florida’s Dominic Moore loses the faceoff to Metropolit. They have to do it again. Metropolit wins it. Puck goes to Hamrlik on the opposite side.

Florida exits the puck. It’s in the corner to Halak’s left. Kreps has it behind the net. Moore supports him. Bergeron ends all that and lobs it up high and through the neutral zone.

Impressive entry by Moore ends as he falls like a six-year old. Bicycle one way, legs akimbo.

Another Florida rush is stopped by Halak with good support from both defencemen.

Third entry ends with a ting off the post. Houde and Brunet share a chuckle and remark that Halak was lucky.

Pace is much faster.

Gomez line is on.

Pass and pass back and sent up.

Then back to the neutral zone.

Sudden two-on-one. Weiss. Gets a shot. From a scoring area. Misses the net.

Just under ten minutes.

Moen chases the puck down and again fails to come with it.

Tries another time and can’t reach the Florida skater in time.

Moore and McCabe combine for a pass and shoot. Rebound comes out and Gregory Campbell has a whack at it at the side of the net. Halak extinguishes the play but O’Byrne and Moore have a few comments for one another. And some busculage. Moore decided to back off. O’Byrne’s fight has changed him. He’s going to be a bit more confident from now on. And he won’t have to fight as much.

Crowd has increased its presence. And they don’t decline in sound.

Still no score. Unusual.

Hamrlik carries it out from behind the Montreal net. Sends it to eh neutral zone.

Maxwell now has it in the corner to Vokoun’s right. This doesn’t last long. About three seconds.

Florida’s Rostslav Olesz enters on his off-wing, backhand shot. Looked difficult and the rebound is huge. Fortunate. Nobody could get a stick on it.

Six and a half minutes left in the period.

Faceoff needed.

Behind the Montreal net.

To the neutral zone. Passe avec la main.

Weiss enters and shoots from inside the blue line. Middle. Gloved.

Plekanec takes the faceoff and basically wins it. But the Panthers recover he puck on the boards.

Markov is struggling and his stick is caught up in an opponent. On the other side, Reinprecht brakes and turns, keeping the puck all the while.

Now a shot. Boom. Boof. Deflects. Up. Now it’s on the boards.

Puck is back in the slot. Crowd. Bumping. Halak can’t get at it. Now a Panther does.

Hand pass against the Panthers.

It’s not a two-minute minor. Just a stoppage in play and loss of territory; faceoff takes place closer to the offender’s net.

And yet another stoppage in play.

Lapierre wins the faceoff.

Brunet says that he is very impressed with Halak’s work tonight. He says that despite the post, Montreal would be behind were it not for the Slovak goaltender. I really don’t think the Canadiens are going to let Price go. He will get the chance to win the job without Halak around. And by win the job I mean finally prove himself the undisputed number one. I have little doubt now he will be able to do it. He may not be well-liked but he will be the man.

And maybe he will change people’s perception of him. Stranger things have happened.

Florida gets called.

Bergeron and Markov are on the blue line with Plekanec, Pouliot and Cammalleri on the first wave.

Some early control. Passes and that sort of thing. But no shots. And another whistle.

They get another faceoff and control it.

Plekanec wheels at the circle. Fires. Pouliot nearly puts it in.

Cammalleri has it in the phone booth area. Sends it to the opposite corner for Markov who passes to Plekanec at the lip of the crease. In the air. Plekanec. Bats it in.

It’s his thirteenth.

Montreal 1, Florida 0

Just over a minute in the period.

Maxwell is on with Gionta and Gomez. They get a huge chance off some early shark’s teeth pressure; joy of a goal bubbles underwater.

Maxwell misses an open net.

Florida survives and forces the puck out.

With ten seconds left Montreal makes another bid. But Florida survives.

Guy in a suit is handing out towels to the Canadiens that want one. Florida leads in shots 11-4 on the period for a total of 20-10.

Second Intermission
Montreal 1, Florida 0

Bertrand Raymond is a guest with Alain Crete and the boys. Raymond covered the Canadiens for forty years and announced his retirement last week. He was once very well-respected but became more criticized in recent years. He is considered a champion of French players and interests. From my perspective he was too much against the Russian and European players.

Raymond throws several bouquets in Guy Lafleur’s direction saying that he was the hardest working player on the ice every night and that he has remained the same through to today; honest and a person of integrity.

His Royal Hockey Majesty Renaud Lavoie interviews Montreal defenceman, the poised Josh Gorges and we see the interview just prior to the third. The Q&A is emphatic on Lavoie’s part but banal and unenlightening.

Third Period
Montreal 1, Florida 0

Lots of Habs fans in the crowd. Lots. What’s up with Miami anyway.

I’d choose San Fran. Or LA. Maybe San Diego. Oakland. Sure. Why not.

Leopold fires wide from the point. Clean ice. Cold? How cold? One day, ice won’t need to be cold.

Cammalleri holds his stick high for a drive but brings it back down. Then he shoots. Sneaky. Gets it through the double coverage and Vokoun’s alertness and reactions are tested. Pass.

Paddle down, Halak watches the puck cross the slot. Lines change.

O’Byrne retrieves and then carries it out.

Metropolit is on. Slot pass is intercepted.

Matthias comes in. Closely followed. Tripped. Still almost scores. Halak got right from left. Penalty shot awarded.

Shawn Matthias. They play that instrumental from the Alan Parson’s Project’s best-selling album. The Jordan song. The 72-10 theme. Etchetera, etchetera. That’s how my grade eight social studies teacher pronounced it (French immersion).

Here goes.

Deke. Right. Left. Mostly stick. Up high. Scores.

Florida 1, Montreal 1

Scoop lift. That is my term.

Matthias is from Mississauga, Ontario.

Veer you are from.

Lapierre line follows Gomez’ line

Gorges keeps it in.

Maxwell has it briefly but he appears to give it away.

Cammalleri is on. Twelve and a half minutes. Left in the period.

Keyboard is an issue now. I gotta go ergonomic. Enough Gen X stubbornness.

Eleven and a half left.

Three on two.

Pass is too far. Sergei was in.

Markov has it behind the Montreal net. Exits and passes to the neutral zone. Too far.

Canadiens get another entry. Nothing.

Whistle.

Ballard and Gomez.

Gomez does something extra and the crowd and Houde react. He has a short fuse. Gomez.

Needless break occurs for about sixty seconds.

Four on four.

Plekanec and Cammalleri are the first pairing.

They are swift skaters, both. Cammalleri swoops in with a speed I didn’t know he had. Nearly captures the puck in a Florida corner.

Pouliot and Metropolit are the next pairing. We see Hamrlik move up from his defensive position to extend the possession. He sends the puck around the back of the net. Whistle happens soon afterward.

Four on four continues. Weiss to Stillman and back forth for the best scoring chance of the night. Somehow the finish isn’t there.

Goal.

Florida.

Matthias. From the crease.

Five-hole. Matthias arrived to jam it in. Replay shows that it went off all sorts of Montreal skates and sticks.

Florida 2, Montreal 1

Houde says that the Panthers have dominated since the beginning of the game.

We hear that Panther snarl over the PA system. If we didn’t have audio recording technology, somebody might have to provoke a panther after every goal. Another plus for technology. I guess they could provoke an ocelot or a very big housecat. All you’d need then is a megaphone. Hmm.

Plekanec shoots from the sideboards. Only four and a half minutes left in the game.

I’d ramble but I’m not in the Kenny Rogers mood and mode. Travis Tritt, then? How about Garth.

The Panther went down to Georgia he was lookin’ for a Skype to steal.

Just over four minutes.

Bip. Boop. Click. Bwoop. Passes and a long, wasted, weak shot. Vokoun holds it.

Gorges is holding a bandage of some kind to his throat. Seems like a slight cut. Flesh wound as they say.

Metropolit has it in the corner.

Canadiens keep it in.

Houde said earlier that the Panthers have dominated this game. I repeat it because I find it hard to understand. Has that really been what I’ve seen tonight? A Florida domination.

Canadiens are controlling well. Better than they have throughout the game. (uh, maybe) Gomez line.

Cammalleri is on now. Hamrlik and Cammalleri combine on a turnover.

Just under two minutes.

Moen is on with Cammalleri and Plekanec.

Moen collides with someone. They let it go.

Passes are longer, more desperate. More turnovers. Minute and twenty.

Another interception.

Halak skates to the Montreal bench. Sixth man is slow to get on. Houde is mildly amazed and critical. I agree.

Panthers won’t let Montreal in. Canadiens’ passing is not helping.

It’s a bad ending. People are not going to like the ending. Bad taste. Tomorrow’s article comments are going to be very bitter.

Florida 2
Montreal 1

Brunet says the better team won. Houde says the Panthers were dominant from the beginning of the game.

HDS Stars: Cory Stillman, Shawn Matthias, Jaroslav Halak (these must be the least thoughtful and lazy stars I’ve ever given out)
RDS Stars: Shawn Matthias, Cory Stillman, Jaroslav Halak

What the hell. How come my lazy stars are so close to the RDS stars? Great. This can’t mean anything good.

Demers’ manchette says “Halak Un Vrai #1”. I’m stunned. It’s not like him to take a controversial stand. Price must really be a jerk. Or what. What. Tell me what. Ok, I resume editing. Well, this just guarantees that Halak will go before the trade deadline. That’ll end all of the debate. But they have to get the right deal. Ok, I resume editing.

One last comment; Jacques Demers says that Benoit Pouliot was the best forward on the ice for the Canadiens tonight; not even close. Really. Not even close. Really. I disagree. Plekanec, Metropolit and Cammalleri were all close if not even or better. Let’s shade the blooming here a bit.

Related posts:

1. Montreal Canadiens vs. Florida Panthers
2. Montreal Canadiens versus New York Rangers
3. Montreal Canadiens versus New Jersey Devils
4. Montreal Canadiens versus Florida Panthers
5. Montreal Canadiens versus Florida Panthers
6. Montreal Canadiens vs Ottawa Senators