Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers
April 2, 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 (37-32-8) visit Philadelphia Flyers (38-33-6)
Friday, April 2nd, 2010
Game Seventy-Eight (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.
Jaroslav Halak is the brooding mask for this road game. He, too, is very white in his new padding. Brian Boucher’s pads are more greyish and he is the Philly keeper.
First Period
Scott Gomez trio begins. Gomez wins the faceoff and the Canadiens fire it in from their own blue line. Benoit Pouliot is checked off the puck and four Flyers enter, chasing a dump-in. Slot action, high, backhand attempt is handled.
Now Andrei Markov is carrying it up and out of the Montreal zone and his pass goes up and out of play in the neutral zone.
Canadiens win the faceoff. Small dump-in from the neutral zone.
Puck is fought for on the boards in Philadelphia ice. The puck moves into the neutral zone.
Lines change and tenacious centre Dominic Moore is on with Travis Moen. Tom Pyatt is with them.
Glenn Metropolit, Sergei Kostitsyn and Jaroslav Spacek are not playing tonight.
Forwards Riley Cote, Dan Carcillo and Jeff Carter are out of the lineup for Philly. No changes to the defensive six-some.
Faceoff is outside the Philly blue. Puck is in. Moore works from the side-boards and his backhand pass is nearly a no-looker and results in a turnover.
Danny Briere line is on for Philly. Puck goes out of play in the neutral zone.
Ben Maxwell takes a laborious faceoff outside the Montreal blue. Action moves out of the Montreal zone, back in and then out again as Mathieu Darche moves it up and through the neutral zone.
Teams haven’t been able to set up yet.
This sequence is no different.
Kimmo Timonen works the Orange end-boards. Flyers exit but can’t sustain control.
Tom Pyatt, Moen and two Flyers work the boards in Montreal ice. Puck is sent to Gorges on the opposite circle. He moves it up. Canadiens are on the Flyer end-boards. Puck squirts to the crease where Boucher freezes it.
Canadiens win the faceoff. To Bergeron. Shot. Stopped. Held.
Faceoff to Boucher’s right.
Puck goes to the endboards. Flyers pick it up. They send it in. Around the boards. Hartnell has it. His pass to the blue line is errant and leaves the zone.
Ben Maxwell, Mathieu Darche and Maxim Lapierre are on.
Lapierre works down the left side and backhands a pass to the slot. It’s kafuzzled and play stops. Meantime, Braydon Coburn harangues Lapierre.
It all ends soon enough and both lines are back on the bench.
Faceoff. Boucher’s right.
Thomas Plekanec loses it, reaching with one arm.
Puck stays low. Cammalleri chases it.
Former Canadien defenceman Mathieu Carle tries and exit on the left. Canadiens keep it in.
Ryan O’Byrne advances to extend the stay. Puck exits. Lines change.
Carle has it low. To defence partner Lukas Krajicek. Flyers enter, covered. In the corner to Halak’s left, Moore picks it up. Tries a pass around the net. Neutralized. He gets a chance to do it again and succeeds. To Gill.
End to end long pucks with a Flyer icing as the end result.
Gomez loses the faceoff but Gionta and Pouliot are able to muffle the puck on the end boards. Flyers manage an exit.
Canadiens enter again. Gomez. Shot. Save. Low. Gionta. Shot. Goalie is compromised. Another shot by Gionta off the rebound. Boucher manages it as Gionta skitters out of sight.
Lines change.
Maxwell is chasing now.
Briere gets a pass from Simon Gagne and enters through the middle. Turns and passes to the right. No further pressure and a whistle goes.
Montreal’s Roman Hamrlik picks up the puck from the draw. Kostitsyn has it deep. Backhand to Plekanec in the slot. Bing. Bang.
In.
Montreal 1, Philadelphia 0
Brunet says that nobody watched Plekanec. Four Flyer jerseys missed it. It’s Plekanec’ 24th.
Gomez line follows. Hartnell line in response.
Pouliot moves in. High on the stick, slow, deliberate stickhandling and it works to move him in. No shots result.
On the other end, Halak makes his toughest save so far. A mild one, nonetheless.
Pouliot golf-banks it to gain time for a change and the puck is whistled.
Whistle again.
Shots are 7-4 in favour of Montreal, we are told.
Canadiens win the faceoff to Halak’s right.
They fail to control in Flyer ice. Puck leaves the zone; failed blue line pass.
Next incursion is by Plekanec with Kostitsyn hustling beside him. Interrupted by Philly.
Two-on-two becomes a three-on-two for Philly. Pass is intercepted.
Flyers are back in quickly. But they lose the puck on the point as Lapierre takes it away.
Puck is deep. Two on two along the boards. Darche and Maxwell are doing the work.
Flyers exit. Dump-in. Line changes.
Big Hal Gill and calm Josh Gorges are the defence pairing for Montreal.
Canadiens have brief control and Pouliot falls while turning. Flyers get the puck, pass it up for Arron Asham; breakaway. He holds it, holds it – shoots. High shot. Glove save. Halak holds it for a faceoff. He didn’t come out far to make the save.
Faceoff. Brief attack from Montreal results. Boucher stops it.
Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin pats Pyatt on the back and then with his arm around the player gives him some instruction on the bench.
Plekanec line is on. They lose control on the Flyer boards.
Philly’s Oskars Bartulis enters on the left. Not much.
Brunet says that the line changes are quick for Montreal tonight.
Five and a half minutes left in the first period.
Long pass from Markov hits a player or two and dribbles along til it’s behind Boucher’s net. Pass was for Darche. Flyers generate a rush but it’s well-covered.
Another entry. Slot pass. Giroux skates into the slot for a shot. Golfer isn’t on net.
Now Hartnell has it behind Halak.
They keep it in.
Canadiens stay in position and get the outnumbering they want on the low boards.
Whistle soon afterward.
Darche now has it behind the Flyer net. To the point. Shot. Gloved and held. Gorges from the hash.
Gomez line.
Gomez wins the faceoff. Leaves it and goes to the net. Nope.
Flyers possession. About six seconds and a shot.
Moore and a skate in the Flyer slot, now. Can’t keep it.
Boucher is able to glove it.
Faceoff. To Boucher’s right.
Moore wins it. To the point.
Moore’s faceoff results have been excellent these past few games.
Puck goes out of play.
Plekanec wins the next faceoff. To a defenceman. Long puck. Icing.
Plekanec takes it. To Halak’s right. Plekanec wins it.
Canadiens get into the neutral zone. It’s snarled there. It’s over the blue line.
Stays on the boards. Into the Flyer zone. Simon Gagne gets it and lobs it to a stop in the neutral zone.
Flyers enter. To the point. Blast. Bounces back.
Houde says that the refs are going to let everything go tonight. We see a cross-check from Darroll Powe. Canadiens don’t like it and after a stoppage there is a crowd in the neutral zone. Flyers’ Scott Hartnell is in there. So is Coburn.
Refs are calling a game favourable to the Flyers.
Bergeron is run by Mike Richards now.
Flyers are looking for the big hits all over the ice now. Houde comments on it, as well.
Blare horn goes. Teams leave the ice with little else in terms of hostilities.
Montreal leads on shots nine to eight.
First Intermission
Montreal 1, Philadelphia 0
Francois and Alain discuss whether or not the Canadiens will keep Price; how they might make him an offer and the different ways it might play out in the off-season.
Devils lead the Hawks, 1-0 with Kovalchuk getting the sole goal. Some other scores are also provided. Devils and Hawks don’t play each other much being in separate conferences (East and West) and it’s an intriguing matchup as both are amongst the five or so teams that are threats to reach the finals.
Bouchard says that the Flyers made a lot of mistakes and didn’t come out with the intensity and physicality he expected. He adds that the Canadiens shouldn’t play the Flyers’ game and stick to “Canadiens-style hockey”.
We are asked which of four players was the best Montreal acquisition this season. Bergeron, Cammalleri and Gomez are on the list. And a fourth dude.
Renaud Lavoie interviews Kirk Muller. Muller smiles in answer to Lavoie’s observation that the refs are letting a lot go. Muller says that’s fine as long as they’re consistent and that the Canadiens are comfortable in that type of game.
Lavoie translates and we are ready for the second.
Second Period
Montreal 1, Philadelphia 0
Gomez takes the faceoff. Puck lies on the ice for a moment or two before the Flyers are able to sweep it to their own blue line. The Flyers can’t keep it in the Montreal zone after a brief entry.
Skating is mild. Flyers are passing more, longer ones, too and carrying less.
Three shifts come and go with no middle-of-the-ice incursion by either team.
Gionta ends that with a shot just inside the Flyer blue. From the middle. It’s trapped and held by Boucher.
Lazy penalty by Montreal on a mild right-side entry by Philly. Gill.
First penalty of the game. Gill is looking up at the scoreclock to see what happened.
Houde says that Philadelphia’s 21.9 percent power-play efficiency is third-best in the league.
Flyers set up.
Montreal challenges for most of the first minute.
Shot. From the blue. Slot deflection. Halak stops it. Doesn’t see it. It’s under him. Whistle goes. Another Flyer comes in and puts it past Halak. It won’t count; it was well after the stoppage in play.
Faceoff. Moore wins it. Puck is out along the left side.
Pronger drives it in and it goes off the protective netting. Stoppage results.
Flyers are forced to reset and drive it in. And it’s out.
Still six seconds in the penalty. Flyers are called for interference. Lukas Krajicek.
Gomez wins the faceoff to Boucher’s right.
Stays in. Markov nearly causes turnover with a too-soft pass from the blue line.
Flyers exit. Three on two. Late developer and slow. Resulting shot goes way high.
Habs reset with a minute left in the penalty.
Flyers hang back and wait in their PK square. Would they dare push the issue?
Canadiens are able to pass wherever and whenever.
Slot pass. Gionta’s backhand fails. Flyers clear.
Back in. Habs kept it for a point pass. Shot. Another shot from the slot by Plekanec. Wide.
Penalty ends. Just under twelve minutes left in the period.
Most Flyers shouldn’t get too fancy. A long slot pass by Asham results in a long vector turnover and a good chance for Montreal. And they create another.
Stoppage.
Canadiens should use long passing and make Philly’s tongues hang.
Here’s a two-on-one led by Darche. Lapierre sneaks in to make it a three-on-one. Drop pass. Good selection. Shot. Stopped.
Flyers are behind the play by a few feet at all times now.
It’s easy to become overconfident against a team like Philadelphia. But team speed ain’t enough. Finishing is one thing. Scoring, I mean. And skating to your own standard is another.
Puck goes out of play after two more shifts of Philly chasers.
Flyers in amber. There’s only so much skating they can do.
The Flyers are just waiting now. But March proved that Montreal doesn’t know how to bury an opponent. Here’s another chance.
Crowd starts to chant. Go Flyers. Or something.
Whistle.
Gagne line get active. Near chance from the side. Halak gets over and gloves the mouse.
Flyers are now outworking Montreal on the boards. To the point. Shot. Halak gets over. Habs are watching.
To the point. Another shot.
Now from the side. Habs are doing nothing to help their goalie. Houde loses it a bit. Two great saves.
Canadiens respond. They are in Flyer ice. But only for six seconds.
Flyers rush out. Claude Giroux. Is past his coverage. Left side. Along-the-ice shot. Halak traps it. On his knees and was expecting a higher shot.
Goalies are like butlers. Caretakers for the careless.
Flyers’ deeper orange action continues. They are controlling the boards.
Pass with the hand is called. It’s just a faceoff; no minutes in the penalty box to be served.
Plekanec wins the faceoff. Hartnell chases it into the Montreal zone. Nearly forces a defender off the puck. Flyers stop it at the blue line. Shot. Halak is forced to smother the rebound.
Still very little help.
Faceoff to his left.
Just over three minutes in the second period.
Plekanec enters with Cammalleri on the right side. Pass is missed.
Back to the Montreal zone. Hamrlik can’t fill the forms.
Halak faces two more shots. Non-dangerous but unimpeded.
Canadiens are playing like individuals. And only a few are matching the Flyer intensity.
Stoppage. Darche and Gionta are dealing with Flyer aggression in the corner post-whistle. Hartnell. Club fighter.
Calls. High-sticking. One call. Markov. Briere. Both have to leave.
Briere is pretty brave, eh.
Martin says something non-denominational.
Four-on-four. Gionta and Moore are the first pairing. But not for long as Gomez hops on to replace Moore. Moore must have been on for the faceoff.
Next pairing is Cammalleri with Plekanec.
Cammalleri skates low and hard. Over the right side. Gagne gives a knee-on-knee hit. It’s standing up and deliberate; just outside the blue line. And it’s called.
Faceoff. Canadiens are forced to leave their zone on the failed retention.
They re-enter with ten seconds left in the period and Cammalleri turns it over.
Blare horn goes as the Habs fire a puck down from their zone.
Shots are 12-12 for a 21-20 advantage for Montreal.
Second Intermission
Montreal 1, Philadelphia 0
Crete is one of the best. There can be no doubt. He introduces Joel who gives us some digital knowledge.
You know, RDS is one of the best organizations around. Solid professionalism and fun to watch. I hope they keep it real. Na’mean?
And I don’t care about the vernacular. It’s my stinkin’ keyboard.
Crete goes to Jacques now and says that one thing we weren’t expecting was a goaltending duel. Demers agrees and we see some of Boucher’s work.
Solid stuff but nothing high-level.
Crete says that we can see why both teams are battling for a playoff spot.
Bouchard doesn’t quite support the point but manages to get Alain giggling. Crete adds to his premise by pointing out the wild pucks, missed shots and errant passes and Bouchard takes it up at last and says that Flyers are a team that lacks chemistry. He is alluding to an early-season sequence of toxic events in Philly that haven’t been fully resolved yet.
Toxic events on a Flyer team? Ah ha ha ha. Nothin’ new.
Montreal deserves to be behind 4-1. They also could be ahead by the same score. First period was Montreal’s. Second was Philadelphia’s; at least in the sense that Montreal didn’t press the chessboard advantage.
For a Flyer win, pawns must run amok. And that’s Flyer hockey; one queen and seventeen pawns.
I’m sure you know who the queen is. The king is Clarkie. Good old King Clarke.
And the Canadiens, a team of bishops and knights, have to permit the pawns to run free; hacking and fire-starting. It’s the only way Philly can win (they don’t have your buddy RJ Orr anymore).
Please wake up, mes gars.
Third Period
Montreal 1, Philadelphia 0
Twenty seconds of four-on-three.
Gomez wins the faceoff.
Entry on the right side. Cammalleri. One foot up and looking. Gear-switch doesn’t come. Puck exits.
Pronger has it. To Timonen.
Gomez, concerned about avoiding a hit from Laperriere botches his pass in the neutral zone. Flyers bang the disc down again.
Andrei K is ion the right. Backhand shot doesn’t work. Penalty ends.
Pyatt is on.
Moen hops on.
Andrei K leaves.
Moore is in over the left. Shoots right away. Slapshot goes wide. The most inaccurate shot in hockey.
Bomb or missile?
Faceoff to Halak’s left soon afterward.
Delayed call against Montreal as the Flyers take over behind their net.
They try an entry. Boucher goes to the bench. Flyers manage two very good passes and a wrist shot from the point. Stopped. Held.
Pouliot goes. Hooking.
Martin is almost calm. But exasperated.
Flyers win the faceoff. Keep it in.
Timonen is perched alone on the blue line. First sequence ends in a missed shot and a re-entry.
Briere is on with Gagne. They work the boards. Briere skates with the puck along the boards. To the point. Gets it back. Feels free to skate some more along the boards.
Finally the Canadiens get the puck and clear it.
Just over forty seconds in the penalty. Flyers set up.
Second wave features Flyer captain Mike Richards. Puck goes to the slot. It’s high and spacked in by Van Riemsdyk. But hi stick is high. Refs wave it off right away. Houde and Brunet agree.
We see several replays while waiting for the final decision.
No goal.
Crowd doesn’t like it. About a third of the bowl makes noise about it.
Faceoff is outside the Montreal zone. Gomez loses it.
Flyers need to regroup. Penalty ends as they enter.
Pouliot takes it in on the right side. Great space. To Gionta in the slot. Right at the goalie and along the ice. Oy. Houde says that Gionta was at the end of this shift. It affected his shot.
Plekanec line.
Plekanec enters over the left side blue.
Bergeron has a business mentality. He is set up on the blue line with Hamrlik. Might be the first time since his return that he’s on a defence pairing.
Plekanec loses the puck leaving.
Habs are in trouble. Flyers are allowed to win the puck battles. Habs are tired.
Finally Plekanec helped by Andrei K, get the puck out.
Pyatt line jumps on. They take it to the pirates right away. Pyatt sends a shot just wide from the slot.
Shift ends with the Flyers moving down the left side. Gagne.
He is at the end of his shift. Rounds the net. Not much.
But the Flyers keep some chips on the table (potato chips); your buddy Prescott rounds the net and sends a backhander into the slot. Jammed at. Halak is a marble jumper as he dives forward to gather in the disc.
Pronger, whatever.
Stoppage.
Moore. Loses this one. Out of the Montreal zone. Turnover. Canadiens start out. O’Byrne sends it down the right side.
Markov makes a play to remove Giroux from the puck. Team is focused again.
O’Byrne follows a left-side entry.
Plekanec line is on.
Hartnell is stopped on the left side. Kostitsyn is stopped, himself. Icing by Philly. Crowd is booing more regularly.
Moore takes the faceoff against Briere. The queen wins it. Most powerful piece on the board. Lanes and speed are the most important forms of power in today’s NHL.
Right, Steve?
Entry on the right by Philly.
Bungled but not from lack of effort.
Flyers have the Canadiens in mode de panic says Brunet.
At least they’re panicking.
Gionta line.
Richards to Van Riemsdyk. Behind the net. To the circle. Shot. Another possession. Man.
Cammalleri has it on the left now. He moves it out. Shot. Goes into the crowd.
Crowd mood is getting old world. Barge and fisticuffs. Chickenfight delight.
Just under eight minutes.
Whistle.
Canadiens are subject to cards and dealers now. Pontiac bowties, dice on ice. I don’t like it.
Van Riemsdyk shoots. Puck goes high off Halak’s shoulder. Into the crease. How did it not go in? Houde says that Markov saved the situation.
Replay shows the remark to be true.
We resume.
Flyers respond to the crowd’s urging overtures.
Hartnell is on.
Plekanec line is on.
O’Byrne confronts Hartnell after a save and a whistle near Halak.
Hartnell lets it go. O’Byrne is spared.
Faceoff. Habs win it. Left side of Halak.
They fail once to get it out. Second time is a floater puck to the neutral zone.
Halak is hit on the re-entry. Nearly loses his stick.
Canadiens need lines three and four exclusively. And Metropolit.
Moore is on. Along the boards. Markov works against Hartnell. Great vigour and fearlessness from Markov. But Hartnell stays ahead of him somehow.
Canadiens don’t want to pay the price. Some.
Gionta line is on. He isn’t one of them.
Whistle.
Halak is a dad of a goalie. Cleaning up after the mistakes. Giving a hoot when others don’t. Help him out.
Pronger works it down the boards. Flyers are permitted to run the laneways again.
Finally an exit and shot. But Pronger resumes Flyer control.
Two and a half minutes.
Halak retrieves it behind his net. Along the boards. Moore line is on.
Moore blocks a shot. Results in a rush. Shot from the circle by Moore.
Moore has a streak of aluminum. He’s indomitable. Stubborn.
Lines change. Boucher skates out of his net.
Flyers have it deep.
Timonen turns it over on the boards. Habs push it out briefly.
Now Markov and Plekanec golf it out.
Just under a minute.
Cammalleri has it outside the blue line. Can’t get a shot. Two Flyers.
Another shot. Wide.
Flyers ice it now. Houde says it’s a loss of concentration and critical error.
They have to take a faceoff in their own zone.
Their coach, Peter Laviolette calls a time-out. He doesn’t browbeat; he just instructs. No time for the former at the moment.
Halak talks with Gorges.
Boucher is back in net. He’ll leave the first chance he gets.
Faceoff is to Boucher’s left.
Gionta is taking it.
Gomez is on the hash.
Gionta sends it behind the Flyer end line. Briere eventually has it. Boucher finally leaves.
Flyers exit. Turnover. Long shot from Gionta. Wide.
Flyers try and get it out and set up. Booing increases. Ten seconds. Five.
Flyers can’t set up.
Canadiens survive and get a mostly undeserved two points. They should thank their goalie. And they do.
Price also congratulates Halak.
Halak is such a sympathetic character, isn’t he?
Montreal 1
Philadelphia 0
HDS Stars: Jaroslav Halak, Dominic Moore, Brian Gionta
RDS Stars: Jaroslav Halak, James Van Riemsdyk, Brian Boucher
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