Montreal Canadiens versus Tampa Bay Lightning

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 (25-24-5) visit Tampa Bay Lightning (21-20-10)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Game Fifty-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. Usually the RDS telecast of the game.

Price is back in net. The pattern of starting him after a Halak loss continues and there is much gnashing in the groundlings’ crevasse.

Brunet says that Price becomes nonchalant after a bad goal against and that the young goalie has to maintain his intensity in those situations. Bah. There’s more to this team than Price’s attitude. I’m not saying I disagree but why must there be such intense points of focus?

First Period

Quiet rink gets louder as a long point shot goes wide for Tampa. They are in their all-black uniforms. Jet set.

Tampa Bay is called for tripping.

First wave is Plekanec, Pouliot and Cammalleri. Bergeron and Markov are the rearguard.

Early shot goes out of play.

Faceoff is won by Plekanec. They work on the boards behind Niittymaki. Mike Smith is on the bench. Remember Billy?

To the point. Back to the hash.

Shot. Cleared.

Bergeron starts them off again. Gomez and Gionta are on with Metropolit on the second wave. They enter but the puck goes up off the crowd protection manifold.

Faceoff to the left of Niittymaki. Canadiens can’t do much with the rest of the power-play.

As the penalty ends a puck coasts to the net behind Price and he plays it. Call was against forward Paul Szczechura.

Tampa gets some small car action on the Montreal derby surface.

Then Pouliot gets free down the middle and is in almost alone. Shoots. Save on the glove side.

Pouliot has it again just outside the Tampa blue line and makes a move I haven’t seen before from him. Nice one-on-one fake and swerve. It works but a turnover is forced soon afterward.

Whistle following a small neutral zone swirl.

Fan income break follows.

Hockey, a nice way to while away the winter. No?

Where’s buddy’s book? What a joke.

Faceoff to Antero’s left.

This arena is about as dark as Northlands. I’m calling it Northlands. And why is Pocklington so smug as to say he’d trade Wayne again? What arrogance. And he convinced his friend to write the intro. It’s not working for me.

Metropolit line is on. Bad line change leads to a shot and rebound for Tampa. Houde’s voice rises in tandem. Rebound can’t be potted.

Brunet says it was a bad line change. Too slow and it ended up creating more space for Tampa to operate.

Darche is on now. Lapierre and Gionta accompany him. New alignment to have Gionta on with them.

He carries it up the left side, looking like Martin St. Louis and then loses it briefly. Canadiens support. Darche comes out from behind the net with the puck and sends it across the crease. No sticks reply.

Sergei and Cammalleri come in next. Passes and a rush. Sergei grinds fierce teeth and has been since his return.

Houde says that Sergei is a good passer and when he is invested in the game …Brunet chuckles and interrupts to qualify by adding “when he is motivated”.

St. Louis enters with Steve Downie. First sequence is nullified. But a nice triangle develops. And they score. Brunet says that a miscommunication caused the goal. Downie skated down the circle to Price’s left while both Gorges and Gill went in the same direction. He passed it to St. Louis who was alone for the easy put-in. Too fast for any human to slide over.

Tampa Bay 1, Montreal 0

Very nice goal.

Brunet adds that Gomez made a coverage error as well.

Lapierre line follows. Gomez and Darche are with him.

Alex Tanguay’s line is on for Tampa. Brandon Bochenski is there, too.

Action slows in the corner to Antero’s right (it’s easier to type Antero, ok?).

Corporate subtext break.

Plekanec is on with Sergei Kostitsyn and Cammalleri. I call him Sergei because his brother shares the same surname. But Andrei is not on the ice again tonight. Still recovering from his injury.

This line has a maw chance. But they are covered well.

Whistle goes soon afterward and Gomez is called for hooking.

Legit call. Yet again. Kudos to the officiating this season. Best I’ve seen from the NHL since the lockout. Best I’ve ever seen personally.

St. Louis controls on one circle. Shot. St. Louis watches from the other side. Puck gets cleared.

Lightning exit. St. Louis. Carries and then dumps.

Three Lightning are working against two Canadiens behind the net.

Canadiens clear it.

Pouliot pursues this excursion. Slows the Lightning exit. Downie and Meszaros work it in and pass along the right side (of Price) along the boards with about thirty seconds in the penalty. Play is stopped.

With sixteen seconds left, Plekanec and Moen are on and they take possession and move the puck up into the neutral zone.

Top three penalty-killing forwards in Montreal are probably Plekanec, Moen and Metropolit.

We’re back to five-on-five. Sergei gets hurt in action near the Montreal blue line. He stays on the ice.

Puck gets cleared. Tampa retrieves. Some bad passing allows Lapierre to create a serious problem in front of Antero. Puck bounds high twice on the sequence. Finally the Lightning stop bumbling and work it out.

Lapierre is hitting everyone tonight. At least three checks so far. Salty.

Three and a half minutes left in the first period.

Tampa works along the boards on Montreal ice.

Lasts about four seconds.

Gomez gives it away just outside the Tampa line.

Skating pace has slowed. Icing by Montreal. Dump-in that wasn’t past centre ice.

What is Landshark Stadium in Miami? Is it the former Joe Robbie? Still not watching football, yeah. Just no inclination to.

Moen dumps it in and chases it. Can’t keep up to it and the disc is moved along the boards. Intercepted on the point and shot at Antero. He holds it for a faceoff.

Again, any beer that needs a commercial isn’t worth consuming. This one starts with “R”.

I’d characterize this as a boring late January game so far. At least on the surface. But the investment by the team isn’t there, either. It’s fairly non-urgent. Notable exceptions are Mike Cammalleri, Tomas Plekanec, Maxim Lapierre and Brian Gionta.

Bergeron up for Gionta. Handles it for a few seconds and it bounds off his stick. Canadiens enter nonetheless.

Gomez is supporting.

A too-strong pass ends the incursion.

Canadiens get the next offensive possession. They move it past the hash along the boards. Whistle goes. Matt Smaby, Lightning defenceman gets called for holding. Just thirty seconds left in the period.

Plekanec and Pouliot are on with Cammalleri. Bergeron and Markov on the blue. Canadiens lose the faceoff and have to reset.

Their first sequence is ended by an errant pass. Blat-horn sounds to end the period.

Martin is walking with a purposeful gait to the dressing room. Canadiens lead on shots 12-8.

First Intermission
Tampa Bay 1, Montreal 0

A La Une. Alain Crete and Francois Gagnon discuss the constriction of the conference standings. We see examples of the great disparity between first and last-place teams in different eras over the past thirty years. True, true. Several teams are tangled up in a fifth to tenth place snarl in the East Conference standings. They are separated by three or so points. And, of course, a win is still worth two points.

Demers says that he expected the Canadiens to come out with more energy than he saw. He is building on Crete’s point that Martin’s recent emotiveness may have, should have, had an effect on the team.

Viewers are asked which of five shown forwards would be their first choice in cases of injury for Team Canada. Team Canada. What a dullard’s topic. The team isn’t good enough to finish better than fourth in the Olympics. Next. And get rid of pros in these supposed amateur competitions. Cry-babies. And get a more diverse staff running things. Cronies.

Second Period
Tampa Bay 1, Montreal 0

The lecturer, Mathieu Darche, has three of Montreal’s twelve shots in the first period.

We resume with ninety seconds left in the Lightning penalty.

Dump-in. Plekanec follows it. Sweeps it to Cammalleri. To the point. Shot. Back to the point. Markov has it now.

They work it around. Unorthodox pass from Bergeron on the right point to Plekanec on the left hash.

Whistle.

Faceoff to Antero’s left.

Metropolit gains a draw. But the Lightning recovers it and clears it down.

Long pass for Gionta on the left side goes too far.

Penalty ends with puck floating around listlessly on Montreal ice.

St. Louis hops on. Steve Downie is on with him and Steven Stamkos.

Canadiens are behind the play. Brunet has a good chuckle as we are scored on. Sticks and curls. Lecavalier plays the puck with the stick through his own legs. Witch-broom pass.

Tampa Bay 2, Montreal 0

Really, I don’t give a hoot how talented he is. He’s on Tampa Bay. Not Montreal.

Plekanec line is on. Shot by Plekanec through legs from the circle. Stick breaks.

Action moves hotly to the other end. Foster to Lecavalier. Price makes the jake. Great save.

Stops another on the next incursion. Pad-fly.

Dump-in by Tampa follows after the Montreal clear and lines change.

Gionta is going to get called for tripping. Houde calls it an instinctive reaction.

Plekanec wins the faceoff. But Lightning gets to the puck first.

Gorges and Gill are the defensive pairing. Moen is the other forward.

Tampa controls til a St. Louis shot goes wide and bounds out of the zone.

Tampa clear-in is played by Price behind his net and out of the zone it goes.

Tampa resets. Just under a minute in the penalty.

Stamkos, Foster and Stamkos send it around the top near the blue line.

Stamkos sends a longer-range shot off a one-timer; from just past the faceoff dot to Price’s right. Scores.

Tampa 3, Montreal 0

Six minutes elapsed in the second.

Tampa enters. Whistle after a near-scoring chance. Some shoving. Gill. Then Gorges. It dies down within four three, four seconds.

Gomez is on with Pouliot and Gomez.

They trap the puck in the corner. It’s moved out quickly. Gionta jams his man against the boards after it leaves.

Whistle after Tampa enters.

They win the faceoff and St. Louis’ line is on again and creating. Plekanec moves the team out and they create a shot on Niittymaki.

Line change. Hamrlik retrieves the puck behind his net. Moves it up. Moen can’t keep up with it. How many times am I going to type that in my life?

Metropolit takes a faceoff to Price’s right.

Moen follows it in. Can’t get to it.

Gorges resumes control skating backward from the centre ice line. Passes to his left for Gill. Puck is moved deep. Darche gets on the ice. Montreal controls for five, six seconds. Pass to Hamrlik on the point. His shot is wide.

Lightning enter. Two-on-one. Perfect play. Tanguay. But the open net is missed. Lucky, lucky.

Ten and a half minutes left in the second period.

Tampa bungles a bit getting the puck out but they manage to move it up.

Gomez gets into it with someone after a whistle. Gomez is punching. His helmet is off. Someone’s jersey and shoulder pads are off. Gomez is frustrated. Some moron is banging on the glass with a beverage in his left hand. Intensity of a wife-beater.

O’Byrne is going with Smaby. Smaby is in big trouble and gets lucky when he falls. What utter stupidity all around.

Gloves are picked up. Some insipid rock is played on the PA system. We see a replay of how it started. Victor Hedman didn’t like how Gomez treated him after the whistle. Gomez and O’Byrne are in the box. Gill is discussing things with two officials outside the time-keeper’s area.

We see the Tanguay scoring chance and Bochenski should certainly have scored. Just couldn’t get his stick on it.

Gomez leaves the ice surface. So does Hedman. His shoulder pads didn’t actually come off. Just his jersey.

Five-on-five is the result.

Faceoff is outside the Tampa zone.

Tampa wins it.

Plekanec wins it but a whistle follows within five seconds. Houde informs us that Spacek has a cold and that he is not in the lineup tonight because of it.

Nine and a half minutes left in the second period. Cammalleri is knocked down after creating a chance for the team. Water-logged weaving into the slot. Puck wobbled off his stick and Plekanec couldn’t reach it. Smothered by Niittymaki soon afterward.

Hamrlik has it on the Montreal blue line. Moves it up. Gets it back near the red line. Blasts it down. Tampa moves it out.

Gionta enters. Blasts from the high slot. Nope.

Pouliot is chasing. Whams defenceman Matt Walker in the corner. Whistle. Pouliot is a bit shaken up. Left his feet to do it. Well, he shouldn’t have left his feet to hit an opponent. He seems ok.

Tampa moves it up. Tanguay beats his coverage to the puck. That was bad. Montreal isn’t too, uh, into this game.

Recent Hamilton call-up Ben Maxwell is disengaged on the bench in a way that I don’t like. Just a hunch.

St. Louis exits with the puck. To Stamkos. They are stopped at the blue line. Ohlund retrieves for Tampa. Lightning establish control. Canadiens are watching. We are doomed on this sequence. Markov saves our eggs and gets it to Gionta. Yeah, move the puck away from the more uncaring parts of the ice.

Gill and Hamrlik hop on. And now the Canadiens are engaged in a bad line change, a slow line change. They are lucky as the puck goes out of play at the same time.

Someone has to fire us up.

What is this hogwash.

A team’s best, most desperate hockey should happen when down 3-0 as the Canadiens are. Tampa isn’t doing anything special. So what’s the deal.

Sponsor break.

Cammalleri is on.

Pace is increasing. Sergei has it. Gets it to Plekanec behind the net. Pass goes back to Sergei. Shot. Puck goes out of play.

Bergeron and Gionta work the boards after the faceoff.

Puck exits soon afterward.

Downie has it on the blue lip entrance. Down to St. Louis in the corner to Price’s right (Barker).

Whistle. Hooking. Montreal. Hamrlik.

Hamrlik looks tired and discouraged.

Lecavalier has it. Gets it to the point. Back to Vinny. Great reach and range. Very elegant player. Lightning lose it. Canadiens nearly create a chance. Lightning scuffle and recover.

They re-enter. St. Louis is on with Tanguay and Stamkos.

They complete five passes. Shot from the point by Stamkos.

They continue to control. Nobody is challenging. Pouliot and Gionta are on.

O’Byrne and Markov are underneath. Only Markov is moving the way the team needs.

There is something wrong behind the scenes. Players get like this when they are frustrated by the efforts of certain teammates and perceived favouritism. It’s a guess. And I’m craving Cheetos.

Glass damage. Play is stopped.

Officials decide to call the period since there is only a minute or so left. They will tack that time on to the third period.

Canadiens trail on shots 12-9 for a two-period 21-20 advantage.

Second Intermission
Tampa Bay 3, Montreal 0

Are certain members of the team tanking because Price got a start that is perceived as unfair?

Bouchard enlightens us on puck chase issues. Conclusion: Tampa Bay cares more about getting to the puck tonight.

Jacques Demers and Joel Bouchard defend Steven Downie. Demers says he disagrees with a recent comment from an American sports journalist saying that Downie is stupid. Bouchard supports the position adding that young people make mistakes and that we all make mistakes when we are young.

Now what did Steve Downie do, I wonder.

Renaud Lavoie interviews Vincent Lecavalier. Lecavalier eyes him in a shrewd, evaluative way as the interview begins. Standard questions and answers. Lavoie has a bit of the Lieutenant Steve Hauk persona (the guy who took over the radio spot after Robin Williams’ character was ousted). “I know I’m good.”

Third Period
Tampa Bay 3, Montreal 0

Plekanec takes the faceoff and the Lightning get early control.

Puck goes to the corner where Plekanec chases it down. He gets support from Sergei but the Lightning exit.

Price slides out to his left to handle a Tampa Bay chance from the circle.

Puck is trapped on the boards. Metropolit gets it from the boards to the slot and Montreal starts a rush. It ends behind the Tampa net and with Tampa in possession.

Gill and Gorges work to retrieve. Horn goes. That officially ends the second period. Bizarre sound placement expectation.

Centre ice faceoff again.

Lapierre loses it.

Puck is fielded by Price behind his net.

Moen carries it up. Darche chases. Another forward takes a defender to the boards.

Lightning move it out, regardless.

Markov has it behind the Montreal net.

Sends it up the left side.

Canadiens begin a possession. Cammalleri has it along the side boards. Puck is taken from him. Price has to play it in his crease. Launches the team again.

Metropolit line is on. His shot is blocked by Tampa defender Matt Walker inside the Tampa blue line.

Whistle.

Brunet says that Gomez’ penalty was a ten-minute infraction. Canadiens will have to build lines without him.

Icing by Montreal.

Faceoff is to Price’s right. Canadiens win it. Pouliot moves it out. He is stopped soon afterward.

Action is slow. Canadiens are getting a carte blanche from Tampa Bay to chalk plays and execute. The Lightning have no interest in pushing their opponent.

Tanguay sends it in. Price intercepts it behind his net. Gives it away. Has to make a mild to medium save.

Finally the Canadiens move it down. Cammalleri takes it against two defenders on the left. Plekanec is with him. Puck is turned over in the legs of the defence.

Rush. Return. Jam. Attack. Dig. Corner. Boards. Passing. Interruption. And now a nice hit by Gionta on the blue line. Eventual result is a Montreal possession. Pouliot has it and is knocked down nicely in the neutral zone. He gets it again and this entry is defenced well.

Ten seconds later the puck goes out of play.

Thirteen and a half minutes left to play. St. Louis and Stamkos combine for a pass and shoot and Price makes a save on a Stamkos shot from the left circle.

Lightning are now matching Montreal rush for rush. Puck is along the boards. Most of the Canadiens have resigned themselves to a loss.

I just shake my head.

Mailing it in. Playing for form. Coasting (only one way to coast and that’s downhill). Going through the motions. Where’s the fuel?

The Cormier hit on Mikael Tam was penalized today. ESPN’s respected Pierre Lebrun wrote, “I know he’s [Cormier] a good kid…”. He bases this on the fact that Cormier “doesn’t have a track record of this stuff…”

Generous to Cormier but as a sentiment on its own, not good enough. How do we know Cormier is a good kid? Just watch this kid, Cormier. Take a look at how he carries himself in the future. And look at the tape; see how he carried himself in the past. And then decide for yourself. Lots of guys don’t have track records. And yet they manage not to commit these kinds of attacks. Is Cormier as good as those kids? Mistakes don’t happen at random. They happen as part of a pattern of behaviour.

Play continues.

Just over nine minutes left.

Apathy continues.

Price makes two great saves.

Forecheck has lost most of its will.

Gomez skates up the middle, carries it in.

Gorges keeps it in. Moen catches up to this puck. Keeps it in Montreal possession.

Lightning move it out.

Hamrlik retrieves a Tampa send-in.

It was suggested last night on L’Ante-Chambre, RDS’ post-game show, that Montreal is a team of workers now, not a team of finesse. When hard work isn’t there, there isn’t much left to be inspired by. And there is no Saku to poke the embers.

We see a Mel Gibson movie commercial. Why does this guy have the right to keep making movies? What a xenophobic knucklehead. Count pellets.

Close-up shot of Price’s mask reminds me that I like his current mask. It’s a burnt, deep red with playing cards on it. Gambling and cigars, anyone?

Ryan Malone gets called. Montreal gets a hockey god chance.

Early clear by Tampa.

Bergeron goes and gets it. Enters. Gives it away.

Markov starts the next one. Long pass. Misses. Clear.

Cammalleri and Plekanec succeed in setting the team up. Long shot from Bergeron. Canadiens control the big rebound. Puck moves around the upper perimeter. Now it’s on the hash. Cammalleri.

Another long shot by Bergeron. Controlled. Two more shots. Canadiens keep it.

Tampa clears it after a missed pass.

One more entry. Gomez. Leaves it for Metropolit. Puck moves more quickly. One shot.

Penalty ends. Tampa gets a rush. Muffled.

Gionta carries it in his highly recognizable skating style down the right. Low and churning. Smurf hellion.

Just over four minutes.

Some air horn keeps blaring its sad, ugly truth.

Tampa has a three-pass neutral zone sequence. They follow it in and retain control. Defender Kurtis Foster does a good chunk of the work along the boards to maintain possession and is past the hash.

Brunet says something but my French-to-English translator is working for tones of voice only, now. I can hear that there are some kind reasons being given to support the team. Brunet knows the goblin gnash has begun. Sets turn off. Spoons clatter. Bitter, warm beer is swilled. Big statements are made; “Price-Martin-Soft Euros-Lapierre-Anglos-Francos have to go”.

On my couch in Toronto, I wait to see how the hockey department will solve this problem. I have faith. In Bob I Trust. I’m serious. This will be solved.

Just under a minute left.

Crowd cheers. The ice goes a bit more grey. The puck moves irrelevantly to the action on the ice. The horn goes. Downie and Hamrlik have words. The officials separate them.

Congratulations and cameras. Media members are on the ice. Again where they don’t belong. Niittymaki is congratulated by his teammates. The Canadiens exit the surface to the visitors’ dressing room.

Tampa Bay 3
Montreal 0

Zero.

HDS Stars: Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Steven Stamkos
RDS Stars: Steve Downie, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis

Best Ante-Chambre episode ever. Absorbing, thoughtful crunching of the Price situation. Norman Flynn has some powerful comments about working with a player and getting him to the point he needs to be. And some great counter-points from the others. Wow. Super discussion.