Montreal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils
March 27, 2010, by Homme De Sept-Iles
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 (37-30-8) host New Jersey Devils (43-25-5)
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Game Seventy-Six (score posted following scribbles)
Missed it? Musings capture the game in writing. Based on the RDS telecast, Musings take about 20 minutes to read. More detailed than an article, fresher than a looping highlight and good with morning coffee. Or late-night chocolate.
Halak is the starting goalie for Montreal while folk hero Martin Brodeur is New Jersey’s choice.
New Jersey needs just one point tonight to qualify for the post-season. A tie is worth one. A win is worth two. Regulation tie.
First Period
Tomas Plekanec line starts. Early incursion. Shot from the slot by Plekanec on a fine set-up.
Gomez line is next. His board pass for Gionta is a bit far but number twenty-one catches up to it and the offensive continues.
Gomez sneaks to the front of the net. Awkward shot. Rebound is slapped at. Devils hang on.
Devils send it up the left side. Their possession doesn’t last long. Gill helps move the puck out.
Puck is in the neutral zone but there is a fight. Hal Gill and Adrienne Clarkson. I mean David Clarkson.
Most of it is strong clutching by Gill who makes little attempt to lodge a blow. It ends with a shrug and a separation. Not that kind of separation.
Brunet says that it was Clarkson who issued the invitation to Gill. The two had remained behind the play.
Non-plussed expression from Jacques Lemaire.
Careless push-puck by Montreal defender Ryan O’Byrne in the slot results in a dangerously located turnover. Devils can’t create from the high slot.
Speedy Tom Pyatt is on with defender-turned-winger Marc-Andre Bergeron and centre Glenn Metropolit.
Bergeron enters and passes to Metropolit on the wing. He fires it wide.
Elias chases a puck down the right side but gets no support along the end boards and his backhand pass goes to Montreal.
Cammalleri has it on the hash to Brodeur’s left. Stops. Side-to-side stick-handling; waits. No target presents itself.
Gomez line follows.
They get a seven-second possession which ends after their first shot; a long one by Gionta inside the blue line.
Devils are forechecking with two forwards.
Whistle. Offside against Montreal.
Puck-draw results in a long skitter to the Montreal zone where Markov retrieves. Icing soon afterward.
Faceoff is won by Rob Neidermayer.
Devils slow ways have affected the Canadiens. The pace has uniformly slowed.
Devil Jamie Langenbrunner and defender Andrei Markov are entangled and two linesmen separate them.
Langenbrunner has some tough words for Markov.
Brunet says that Langenbrunner seems in disagreement. Both players are sent to the penalty box and this results in a four-on-four. There are two other players in the box already. Remember? That one did not result in a four-on-four.
We can’t have too much open ice ya hear?
Brian Gionta and Gomez are the first pairing. Kovalchuk is on for New Jersey. He gets free on the boards in the neutral zone. Accelerates. One hand pushes the puck. Two hands. Backhand shot from the under-circle; stopped by Halak.
Roman Hamrlik is called on the play. Devils go to a four on three. Tripping. Kovalchuk didn’t fall but the intent was called. I like that kind of logic. Call the intent. Not the result. Works in sports.
Plekanec bursts out on a two-on-one. Rapid pastiche skate down the right side. Timed pass. Shot is wide. Brodeur was beaten.
On the other end. Devils install themselves. Pass form the corner. Shot. Rebound. Shot. Another rebound. Foreigner Patrik Elias tucks in his fifteenth from the side.
New Jersey 1, Montreal 0
Crowd audio returns to beery pub level.
Back to four-on-four.
Devils get the early control. Are able to generate a point-shot that goes wide and the Canadiens exit. They set up. To the point. Shot. Deflects up into the crowd.
Faceoff is to Brodeur’s left. Mr. Friendly-Man.
Sergei Kostitsyn is on with Travis Moen.
A replay showed that Josh Gorges had the net and missed on the two-on-one short-handed (led by Plekanec).
Devils high-slot pass moves through untouched and the Canadiens try a push of their own. This is stopped.
Devils work on the perimeter in the Canadiens zone.
Devil defenceman Mike Mottau advances with the puck from the blue line. Deflects away.
Now Halak is compromised but a late reaction saves a seeming certain goal. Houde says that Halak seems nervous.
Clarkson is on for New Jersey. Gomez line for Montreal.
Entry by Scott Gomez, the former Devil, a pass for Hamrlik crossing the blue line. Shot, unimpeded and unscreened is stopped at dropped crest level.
Whistle.
Martin is a bit more tense today.
Replay shows a check by Devil Rod Pelley on Glenn Metropolit. Metropolit left the ice with his head low, headed for the dressing room. Brunet says that he is an important player.
Just over eight minutes in the first period.
Zajac is in on the right. Loses the puck.
Canadien Mathieu Darche helps create a bubble inside the blue line. He leaves the ice for a line change Markov takes up the puck. Plekanec gets a shot and Brodeur muffles it.
Devils win the faceoff.
Devils enter suddenly.
Parise is skates and shark over the blue line. And quickly. His efforts are cornered and squared as the Montreal defenders take up the appropriate angles.
It’s a lovely piece of hockey.
Devils are retrieving now. They manage a soft puck over the Montreal blue but Montreal resume possession.
Gionta takes a shot and a whistle goes.
Lee calls a penalty. New Jersey defenceman Martin Skoula asks Lee about it. Brunet is chuckling. Houde, too. Lee is expected to make some mistakes tonight and Brunet says that we are starting what will be a long night with regard to the officiating.
I feel sympathy for Lee. But I can’t defend him.
Call may not have been a good one and a replay may clarify.
The call is holding the stick. Replay is hard to make out.
Devils win the faceoff and clear it.
Markov starts the team out with a quick, crisp lead pass of fifteen feet. Canadiens are in and a pass is missed. Kostitsyn had a perfect play in front of him says Houde.
Two clears.
Gomez gallops in. Gets support. To the point.
Pouliot is on with Gionta. Canadiens lose the puck on the left but Hamrlik fires it back along the boards. A moment and a clear. Again.
Brunet says that the Devils are very aggressive on the penalty-kill and this is where their success comes from.
Penalty ends.
Gionta fires it in diagonally from centre.
Gives Moore, Moen and Sergei time to get on the ice.
After some own-zone dithering Sergei is creating on the right side. Moen extends a stick one-handed to assists and the Canadiens retain possession.
The good work ends after about nine seconds. But the Devils are called for icing.
Lamoriello looks on with a gentle expression. I’ve never seen that from him before.
Parise line is on. They enter offside.
No. High stick.
Neidermayer is called.
Neidermayer shakes his head subtly in the box.
Early shot by Montreal is mild and gloved.
Canadiens are pushed out, Langenbrunner clearing from just outside his blue.
Entry pass fails. Cleared to centre.
Some circling and a drop-pass from Gomez to Markov.
They manage a pass to the opposite point. Brodeur loses his stick on the play somehow. Canadiens hold it briefly on the left side but can’t take advantage of the situation. They have to regroup in the neutral zone.
Just under a minute in the period. Halak retrieves.
Puck is turned over on the New Jersey boards.
Devils get an entry. Shot from Zajac. All of it. A slapshot. Halak handles it.
Canadiens end the period chasing the puck on the offensive boards.
Langenbrunner is chatting with Gorges now. The linesmen are there.
Nothing comes of it. Except more insight on Jamie Langenbrunner.
New Jersey leads on shots 14-13.
First Intermission
New Jersey 1, Montreal 0
Seems like the right scenario to produce two good periods from the home team.
A La Une.
A voice of reason. At last.
Alain says they are going to discuss Martin Brodeur. Francois says there are thirty-five records for goaltenders in the NHL. Brodeur has a few of them. Most of them are Lancaster-type numbers; play long enough at an above-average level and you may appear much greater than you are.
To be fair, the long-enough posit is more Howe than Lancaster.
If Dryden played twenty seasons, his numbers would never be touched. Same goes for Hasek. And Parent. And Gilbert. And so on, and so on. If a scientific study was commissioned, Brodeur would likely not be in the top 100.
Ability is more important than longevity. Repeat an untruth often enough and it is believed.
Longevity is an easy way for armchair analysts to dispense with most of the case studies. Most folks aren’t qualified for greatest-ever discussions. Myself included.
Plus, it’s tedious. Half a lifetime’s worth per category.
And how does one extrapolate foreign league statistics? There have been some great goaltenders abroad, as well.
Boston beat Calgary 5-0, we are told. Interesting.
Patrik Elias is interviewed by Renaud Lavoie. Elias says that the Montreal team is “so skilled” and he commends Martin Brodeur for his early work to keep the team in it.
Lavoie translates with the weighting on Elias’ answers to Lavoie’s Brodeur queries. He ends with “we must not forget about Patrik Elias”.
Yeah, we must not. We’ll talk about someone else the whole time. But we must not.
Second Period
New Jersey 1, Montreal 0
Plekanec takes and wins the faceoff. Sent back. Dumped in.
Cammalleri has it, Naslund flow, quick and compact to the top. Can’t create a shooting chance.
Markov works on the end boards. Loses it while contending with two Devils. Puck escapes to the slot. Hooking is called.
Houde says that the refs are seeing everything tonight.
Moore is on the first pairing.
Kovalchuk controls on the hash. To the corner to Zajac.
Two more passes but Montreal interrupts and clears.
Elias has it turning in the neutral zone. To Parise on the left. Along the boards it goes. Now it’s at the point.
Shot. Rebound. Langenbrunner. Puts it in.
White arms rise and the Devil’s tail switches.
New Jersey 2, Montreal 0
Kostitsyn is in right away. Shoots back-handed. Cammalleri supports. Lifts and goes the other way. Loses it on the end-boards.
Plekanec is on the re-entry on the right side. Around the net.
Kept in. Wrist shot from the blue goes wide. Devils push it out and send it down for a line change.
Gionta line.
Failed keep-in.
Ralston goes down the right side. Careless slot pass back-handed is repelled.
Devils have to retrieve.
Kovalchuk enters alone. One-on-two down the middle. Position is sound. Montreal ends the incursion.
Lines change.
Clarkson enters, turns keeps control, back to the goalie. No shot results.
Now Moore loses it under the NJ end-line.
Hamrlik retrieves it. Pass and another and play is whistled.
In a way, I can’t wait for the season to end.
Passes are completed underneath by Montreal. One. Two. Three. To the neutral zone. And out of play.
Mario Tremblay takes a sip of bottled water. He looks like a blond, angry teacher. Uncomfortable to be in Bell Central.
Canadiens get an entry. Kostitsyn fires high. Wild shot. From the end boards. A pass. Shot. In. Kostitsyn.
New Jersey 2, Montreal 1
Crowd is loud for a moment or two. But they quieten down. It isn’t the Centennial year anymore.
Expectations are realistic.
Not that expecting the Cup is erroneous.
Six minutes elapsed.
Canadiens skate with greater hope.
They ignore the Devils’ box coverage. Lobbed puck results in an entry from the neutral zone by Kovalchuk. Shot. Off-wing. High and quick.
Gloved.
Halak.
The message is, if you guys want to go win it, I can provide the insurance. Different from the Aebischer message, eh?
Faceoff to Halak’s right.
How would you feel about Halak for a second-round choice and Ty Conklin?
Halak scoops up the won puck and discs it to Spacek opposite and underneath. Entry is ended and the Devils respond.
In. Shot out.
Faceoff outside the Montreal zone. Gomez wins it.
Markov is followed. Leaves it for O’Byrne. He’s checked right away. He manages to move it up.
Canadiens have a possession inside the Devils’ zone. Lost. Sent up. Too many lines.
Faceoff to Brodeur’s left. Brunet says that the Devils missed a three on one chance.
Elias. Wins it against Plekanec.
Gionta is on with Plekanec now. Looking for that tying goal.
Pouliot is there, too. A little change.
We haven’t seen Cammalleri with Gionta and Gomez in months. It’s neither here nor there from my beanbag in Toronto.
Another icing. Houde says that it’s another panic play from the Devils.
Moen and Sergei are on with Moore now. Faceoff
They keep it in. Hoping to prevent a line change. Devils get it out after some game boardwork by Sergei under the end line.
Devils get called in the Montreal zone seconds later. Zubrus. High-sticking.
Accidental play as he chased Gorges and the puck.
He, too, shakes his head. Examines his glove in a prone slouch for a few seconds, first.
First push-out occurs after about ten seconds.
Cammalleri is on with Plekanec. Markov on the blue.
Puck goes out of play.
Gomez wins the faceoff to Brodeur’s right. Bergeron steps up and into the shot. Stopped by Brodeur. High velocity.
Habs are out. And then in again.
From the point. To Hamrlik opposite from Bergeron.
Shot is blocked in traffic.
Hamrlik. Left side. Along the boards. Behind the net. Around the other side it goes. And another exit.
Kovalchuk is in now. One-on-two. Some good moves. Not as sickening as the Atlanta days but promising. Lethal vulcanized promise.
Penalty ends on this incursion.
Just over eight minutes.
Gill picks it up. Moves up. Looks long. Puck hits someone on the way into the Devils’ zone.
Clarkson and McAmmond work the boards along the left in Montreal ice.
On the other side.
Moore drops back to help Gill. It works and the Canadiens push it out.
Devils send it in from the neutral zone.
Canadiens enter. Three-on-two. Three-quarter speed.
Gionta is turning, spinning, hit, keeping, somehow in his magical black chalk way. Can’t produce the dust. Puck stickles and flips away.
Just under six seconds.
Devils are entering like a joined square-steel prism. Joints and pungent thin chrome. Soul of silver, smell of copper.
It’s a kind of boring.
Moore line is on. On the boards. Three Habs. Left side. Two Devils.
Zharkov comes up with it. To the point. Shot. Find the inside of the post to Halak’s right.
Brunet says that this is not a robust team but they play big.
Brunet says that Zubrus did great work in front of Halak. Puck deflected off Zubrus.
It’s a kind of effective.
New Jersey 3, Montreal 1
Kovalchuk line follows. Rolston is on with him.
Gorges and Gill are the Montreal defensive pairing.
Neidermayer enters on the left. Clarkson follows it and picks it up at the side of the net. Devils are chased out, shotless.
Three-on-one emerges. Kostitsyn is the trailer. Fans on it. Big ghost.
Resumes control on the under-circle. Looking, stickhandling. Sends it. It’s in. Plekanec. Standing on blue ice.
New Jersey 3, Montreal 2
Refs pause to check the replay.
We see a replay.
Brunet says it went off Plekanec’ skate. He adds that there doesn’t seem to be a deliberate gesture.
No distinct kicking motion, says Lee. Good goal.
It’s Plekanec’ 23rd of the season.
Faceoff. Gomez. Loses it.
Devils have it on their blue. Pass to the right wing at the Montreal blue. Long shot after an entry. Wide. Puck bounces.
Out. And a whistle.
Another review of the standings. Montreal is sixth in the conference and need to finish eighth in order to qualify.
Houde says some good things about Tippet. Or am I mistaken?
Elias has it just outside the Montreal blue. Turns and whacks it back to a teammate. Action stays on the boards as the teams exchange turnovers.
Moments later the puck goes out of play.
Centre ice faceoff.
Devils win it. To their blue. Up. In the Montreal corner to Halak’s left. Retrieved. Sent up. Intercepted.
Recouped.
Montreal exits. Plekanec has it. Head up. Creating. Traffic. Makes a play. Striped arm goes up. Whistle. Penalty. Houde says we’ll find out after the break.
Bryce Salvador Is called. Hooking.
Zero of three tonight. Zero of seven in two games, coming in.
Early control. Shot. Brodeur got a piece of the short-range trigger.
Devils send it out twice.
Just thirty seconds in the period.
Entry. Careless pass by Bergeron and the Canadiens have to leave the zone and reset.
Markov goes from left to right. Gionta has it. Shot. Brodeur goes to the carpet.
Stacked pad seventies save.
Brunet comments on Brodeur’s unique get-it-done-any-way-you-can style. He was out of the crease and playing living-room train.
Faceoff to his right.
Siren goes.
Brunet says that the effort has been there. Brunet says it’s been a difficult night for Halak so far.
Devils lead 21-19 on shots after a 7-6 shot advantage in the second.
Second Intermission
New Jersey 3, Montreal 2
Joel says that Langenbrunner does all the little things and that he “adores him”.
Only Jacques has orange papers tonight. Joel and Alain have white papers.
Brown jacket and blue tie for the former Blues coach.
Yeah, and Red Wings.
I just learned that “stupid refers to lack of ability while ignorant refers to lack of knowledge”.
Learning is not necessarily believing.
Somehow the hermetic red-print isn’t in evidence. The Devils defence isn’t sealed.
Third Period
New Jersey 3, Montreal 2
Brunet and Houde say some warm things about former Canadiens head coach Pat Burns.
Pouliot initiates a standing up bump in the neutral zone.
In and out of Devil ice.
Whoops, Kovalchuk enters. Spacek goes floor-ward and sweeps the puck away. Sure scoring chance prevented.
Long puck whistle.
Gomez wins the faceoff.
Spacek sends it up the left side for Gionta. Intercepted.
Halak is out and playing the puck in front of a Devil and a comrade. Hooks the puck along the boards.
Canadiens work and get it under control.
Puck to the front. Moore. Backhander. Losing his balance. Unable to light the light. Replay shows that Mottau’s coverage prevented a harder shot. Stick on stick.
We resume.
Another pass from the end boards. Plekanec. Shot. Direct. Three feet. Stopped. Frozen. Plekanec jaw tightens in frustration.
Cammalleri takes it up outside the Devils blue line following the faceoff. Accelerating, crosscuts take him into the left column. But not shot results.
On the other end, Parise is knocked into the Montreal net as Halak makes a save. Stoppage. Light bump into the net. No injuries.
Faceoff is won by Montreal outside their blue.
Gomez on the boards. To the point. Spacek. Shot. Houde’s voice rises. Brodeur is up and ready.
Two stops, spread pad and frozen.
We resume.
Canadiens have to retrieve. Gill and Gorges are the defensive pairing. Moore assists and traps Zubrus on the boards. Moore doesn’t stop. Tenacious work continues behind the Montreal net. And it works. Puck is moved out.
Moore provided Koivu-type tenacity on that sequence.
Plekanec line follows.
Kostitsyn enters. Slows. To Plekanec in the high slot. Plekanec. Back to Kostitsyn. Shot. Constricted wrister. It makes it to the net with two Devils retreating and a third coming back.
Just wide.
Stoppage soon afterward.
Canadiens are going to score.
Faceoff.
Again. Who in modernity actually drinks Coors Light? Any beer that needs an ad ain’t any good. Especially Coors, Miller and Bud. Carbonated urine.
Labatt’s, Molson and Pilsener, too. Yellow soap-water.
And light? Why drink it then? For the taste? See above.
Faceoff is won at centre ice by Montreal.
Spacek sends a dig-pass backhanded on the right side.
Montreal is stopped in the neutral zone. Houde says that there is less Montreal rhythm since the pause.
I’d say there’s less Montreal Mystique since the trades and off-season abandonment(s).
Just over eleven minutes left.
Lang doesn’t jump on and start chasing. Tanguay isn’t backchecking.
Now Dandenault isn’t losing the puck on the side-boards.
Kovalev doesn’t watch the puck escape on his side to the blue line where a Devil shot doesn’t reach Halak.
Gomez line is on.
Whistle.
Elias. Against. Plekanec. Halak’s left. Devils win it and send it to the point. Right quick. Puck stays on the perimeter. Devils control it. This five-on-five looks like a power-play.
This is just not good. Twelve seconds. Fourteen. Finally Gorges traps and sends a puck out.
McAmmond enters.
Loses it along the end-boards.
Clarkson is there on the re-entry but loses it inside the Montreal blue.
Spacek retrieves it behind Halak.
Canadiens finally cross the Devil blue but a slot pass from Moore is lost to the opponent.
Gomez line. Gomez down the middle. Drops for Gionta. Goes to the net. Gionta’s shot follows. Nearly tipped in.
Canadiens pulse.
Gomez is in again on the left. Pouliot is in ahead of him. Offside is called.
After you die, they’ll wait ten years and then rename the highway named in your honour.
Or maybe twenty. The naming game. Another dominant ideology charade. A jig of mercy? Or a jig of doom?
Just kidding.
Or not.
We resume outside the Devil blue.
Quick whistle. This faceoff is lost by Plekanec outside the Montreal blue line.
Mottau is forced backwards by Plekanec swooping eagle forecheck. Puck is sent up and then turned over.
Just under seven minutes.
Halak retrieves it behind his net.
To Gorges on the let. Up for Sergei.
Gionta gets it. On the right. Shoots. Rebound skitters harmlessly in the wrong direction.
Kovalchuk enters on the left side.
Stopped. By a defenceman.
High shot. From the other side. Also stopped. By Halak.
Devils coverage is complimented by Brunet and then Houde.
Parise has it around the Montreal net. Cycles. Elias supports.
Puck is sent out.
Devils are in again, though. They are staying ahead of the play.
So what if the power-play isn’t clicking? Just score in five-on-five.
Players to self-excuse? Stay tuned after the game.
Interracial couple in the RBC commercial; French. Impressionant. But hey, they have to sell houses; may as well communicate with their customers.
Les choses, ils se changent.
My French, it stays the same. Atrocious conjugation. French is more needlessly complex than even English. Masculine, feminine, futur simple, futur this, passé that. How I passed, I can’t recall.
Three minutes.
Commercials are good optics but just cuz Obama is prez doesn’t mean …
Well, the action is a bit slow. Canadiens can’t get the puck. Moore is on. He changes things a bit. Carries it up on the left.
Canadiens set up.
Moen and Pouliot are on with Moore.
Canadiens are pushed out. Just under two minutes.
Devils stop another Montreal entry.
Markov under his end line. To Bergeron on the left. Sends it up to the Devil blue line. Turnover.
Houde says the Canadiens are losing a lot of time and are not able to get organized.
Another send-back.
Just under a minute.
Halak leaves the net.
Canadiens keep it in.
Two boards battles won. Third is lost and the puck is cleared.
One last entry. Pushed out.
Kovalchuk. Drops it. Two men back. Rolston shoots it into the empty net.
New Jersey 4, Montreal 2
Martin Brodeur pumps his fist and yells something enthusiastic.
Brunet says the Canadiens aren’t, he pauses, physically robust. He says a few more things along those lines and finishes by saying that this worries him for the upcoming playoffs.
New Jersey 4
Montreal 2
HDS Stars: Zach Parise, Mike Mottau, Richard Brodeur
RDS Stars: Ilya Kovalchuk, Andrei Kostitsyn, Martin Brodeur
We are told by Jacques Martin that Glenn Metropolit’s injury is upper body and not serious but that we will get an evaluation on Monday.
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