Montreal Canadiens vs. Carolina Hurricanes
April 8, 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 (39-32-9) visit Carolina Hurricanes (34-36-10)
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
Game Eighty-One (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 and Cam Ward are the goalies. It’s Halak’s fourth straight start.
First Period
Tomas Plekanec line starts. Canadiens win the faceoff and enter. Immediate tripping call against Jay Harrison of the Hurricanes. Took down Mike Cammalleri.
Same line for the power-play.
They get control off the faceoff. To the blue. Down to the side. Plekanec sends it to Andrei Kostitsyn and he misses the open net. Houde says that these types of missed chances are accumulating for the Canadiens (in recent games).
Canadiens regroup after a clear.
Marc-Andre Bergeron and Roman Hamrlik are on the blue line and Scott Gomez’ line steps on.
Gomez finds Pouliot well-covered in the slot. Two defenders. Direct shot. Also muffed.
With twenty seconds left in the penalty the Canadiens reset for a last segment.
No shots result and Carolina clears.
Hurricanes start out. Pass by Eric Staal ends in a turnover in the neutral zone.
Hal Gill and Josh Gorges are now the defensive pairing. Travis Moen line (centred by Dominic Moore) has a brief shift.
Maxim Lapierre, Tom Pyatt and Brian Gionta are on together, Gionta unexpectedly joining the fourth line. Interesting.
Pierre Houde and Benoit Brunet discuss it, Brunet saying that Montreal coach Jacques Martin is sending a message to Carolina. Houde says that it might be a way for the top six forwards to get a bit more ice time.
Stoppage as the puck goes out of the neutral zone.
Gomez line. Gomez loses the faceoff.
Hamrlik retrieves the puck, turns and a Hurricane falls into the boards. Canadiens are able to move it past the Carolina end line, a long puck but the Canes exit. They are looking for a line change and give up possession to accomplish that.
Sergei Kostitsyn is on with Moore and Moen again. Just under fifteen minutes in the first period. Lapierre line hops on. Lapierre closes on Erik Cole on the side boards in Montreal ice and pushes him off the puck and takes it himself. His short pass is intercepted.
Stoppage soon after a mild stop by Halak to his left.
Lapierre goes up against Brind’Amour in the circle. But Brind-Amour is asked to leave the circle (faceoff infraction) and Kostopoulos loses the draw.
Former Canadien forward Sergei Samsonov is in the game now. He misses a slot chance, best chance for Carolina so far.
Puck is exited and then it turns away from the Carolina zone and is sent out of play.
Replay shows that Samsonov’s shot was handled very nicely by Halak. About five feet away from the shooter.
Cammalleri enters as action resumes. Sends it to this left just under the blue line. Puck is battled for along the opposite boards. Hurricanes can’t move it out.
Finally they do but Canadiens retain possession outside the Carolina blue.
Gomez line is on. Carolina’s Jussi Jokinen and Eric Staal combine for a possession under the Montreal end line. Staal is slow and also given space. Let him pass, he’ll turn it over.
Puck is now in the corner to Halak’s left. Canes have possession again; Zach Boychuk and Tim Conboy combing to keep the puck alive on the boards.
Habs get it out along the left side. But Samsonov picks up a puck in the neutral zone off a turnover and enters with left-side flanking. He keeps it, Shoots very close to Halak’s left. Gloved.
Canadiens take it the other way after the faceoff.
Hamrlik keeps it, crosses the blue line and wrists one. Ward drops it and it skitters just past his left post.
Canes respond with a three on one, Gorges back. Down the right side. Pass to the middle. Back to the right. Shot. Halak handles it.
Faceoff.
Brandon Sutter has it under the end line. Goes around. To Ray Whitney. Whitney is skating around like Samsonov used when he was with Boston. He creates all sorts of laneway creases and chunks of stone fall from the tunnels. He is unable to create a shot. But the Canes get better control of the game for twenty seconds.
Lines change and so does the momentum.
Moore line.
Moore forechecks well but bats a puck backhanded to a Cane.
Lapierre line is on and pressing. Pyatt turns on his sharp axel twice in two segments, retaining the puck both times on the end boards. Canes finally take the puck off him.
Shot of some clown making a gigantic bubble in the concourse area of the arena as RDS goes to commercial.
Jaroslav Spacek is back in the lineup on defence after a three-game absence and Mathieu Darche is absent from the forward set. Darche is one of the players who doesn’t take a shift off.
Plekanec line is on.
Hamrlik has it slowly retreating. To Spacek in open ice under the Montreal blue line on the other side. Canadiens work it down.
Gomez. Slow and serpentine. In the back office. Finds another slot space. Sends it there. Nope.
But the followup shot by Spacek, advancing, requires a good save from Ward. Glove side and held.
I’d like to see Pouliot and Cammalleri trade lines just to see. Both players are struggling and Cammalleri might bury many with Gomez feeding him.
Tuomo Ruutu is not in the Carolina lineup tonight.
RDS reminds us that this might be Rod Brind’Amour’s last home game with the Hurricanes. Ever.
Who cares.
And good roiddance.
Canadiens threaten. Markov down the left side. Perfect pass. Certain goal. And Ward is fortunate that Travis Moen is not a finisher. Didn’t get enough on it and couldn’t direct more to his right. Puck hits Ward on a slow left pad sliding over.
Canes respond with a quick rush of their own. They outnumber their defenders by one and Halak makes a sharp save.
Now a manic slot chance from Carolina is stopped by Halak. Halak’s intensity is marked.
Three and a half minutes in the period.
Houde remarks that both goalies have been excellent so far.
Plekanec line is on. Andrei K forechecks with a bit of commitment and it allows Cammalleri to keep a possession going.
Markov imprints himself on this segment and some good spacing occurs. Plekanec misses a slot chance on a pass that was a bit high for him.
Play is stopped in Montreal ice.
Gomez line. They wait for Carolina to mess up. And a long puck leads to icing by Carolina.
Faceoff to Ward’s right.
Martin is wearing a purple and blue blaze, spider-tie. Black dominant.
Canadiens get a bit careless with the puck on an exit attempt. But they support one another and move it to the neutral zone.
Canes re-enter and a long shot from the hash is gloved by Halak. Slow wrister.
Brunet says the Canadiens are giving up too much space in the neutral zone.
We resume and the Hurricanes work in swirls outside the Montreal blue line. Finally they enter but are offside.
Houde says that there’s a good crowd tonight. He says that the Canes have done well since January and it’s helped them.
About thirty seconds in the period. Plekanec wheels back into his own zone. Looks left. Keeps. Now passes to the middle area. An entry seconds later. A shot. A rebound. Ward is turning and out of position. He is beaten but the shot angle was too sharp and the puck sails over the crease and into the corner.
Period ends soon thereafter.
Montreal trails on shots 10-7.
First Intermission
Carolina 0, Montreal 0
You know, one day the majority of NHL players (NBA, NFL, CFL, whatever) will have been born after 2000. And I won’t ever have to subtract again to figure out a player’s age. I never learned to like subtraction. Addition is still far easier and more sensible.
Subtraction. Bah.
A La Une was too focused on Brind’Amour and I zoned out.
Alain says to Joel, it doesn’t seem like the Canadiens are a team battling for a playoff spot (referencing first period action).
Bouchard and Demers are disappointed to agree.
Renaud Lavoie interviews Marc-Andre Bergeron. Bergeron is auditioning for a television career. He’s like Robertson Davies. Getting paid by the word. But unlike Davies, Bergeron makes a boring answer more unbearable by extending it.
Second Period
Montreal 0, Carolina 0
Larose is in on the left. Covered. Backhand. Stopped. Rebound. In. Carolina scores after about a minute of play.
O’Byrne made a gaffe on the Carolina blue line. Markov couldn’t get back quickly enough to cover for it.
Carolina 1, Montreal 0
Some guys never learn humility. They just oscillate between shame and hubris.
Hurricanes and their crowd are a bit happier now. Canes press the puck for about fifteen seconds. They keep it along the boards and manage one blue line pass but no shots.
Lapierre hops on. They end the Carolina control but incur an icing early in their shift.
More fluff about Brind’Amour. Brunet lobs a few bouquets.
Canes rush. Three on three. Backhander from Jussi Jokinen. Too sharp. Stoppage soon afterward.
Plekanec beats Staal on the faceoff to Halak’s left. Plekanec turns it over. Staal nearly creates a slot-shot from it. Houde uses his admonishment tone.
Canadiens get a possession. They extend it. Two good chances but then a turnover.
Canes exit. Good pass from the boards from Staal to Larose. Larose is free and nearly two strides past the closes defender. Goes to his backhand. Is tripped. Falls. Scores anyway.
Carolina 2, Montreal 0
Martin calls a timeout. He expresses his feelings to his team.
Just under fifteen minutes left in the second period.
Maybe the best thing would be for this team to miss the playoffs.
Or maybe not. Halak could carry this team to the final. He is capable of it.
Gomez line. Won faceoff. Faceoff. Driven in. Forechecked well. Hamrlik pinches. Shot.
Gionta retrieves behind Ward’s net.
Slot pass to Cammalleri. From Gomez. Gionta is on the ice, too. Is this a new line?
Looks like it. It’s not an interrupted line change. Pyatt is the winger for Plekanec’ line.
Canadiens are caught up in their own zone. They end it quickly.
Shift ends. Kostopoulos chases the puck into a Montreal corner as Moore hops on. Lapierre, Andrei K and Moore are together. They are backed up.
Lasts seven seconds.
Eleven and a half minutes in the period.
Gomez line returns. Cammalleri and Gionta are on with him.
Stoppage soon after they enter and create some offence and a high shot.
We resume with the same line skating with proper urgency.
They stay on the ice for a long shift. Markov enters on their last incursion. Turnover at the blue line and an offside follows.
Plekanec, Pyatt and Andrei K. It’s on the boards just under the Carolina hash. Jammed. About four seconds.
Another line change. Moore, Moen and Lapierre. Moore finds Moen in the slot. Missed chance. Incroyable, says Houde.
They keep it in with help from Bergeron who advances down the right side to keep it in.
If the Canadiens played every shift like this, they’d be in third place or better in the East.
Puck goes to the slot again. Moore sends. Goal. Gionta. His twenty-seventh.
Carolina 2, Montreal 1
Now who will decide it’s ok to relax? I’ll tell you who won’t: Dominic Moore, Travis Moen, Jaroslav Halak, Brian Gionta, Andrei Markov, Roman Hamrlik, Tomas Plekanec. Those are my guaranteed selections. There may be others. Darche if he had been here and Metropolit if he was healthy.
Metropolit’s injury, in case you were wondering, is for 6-8 weeks.
We resume.
Gionta. Off-wing entry. To Cammalleri. Tries his golfshot. The one-knee golfer. Can’t get enough of the puck.
Canadiens regroup.
Exit. Send the puck down. Get the line change. Canes get a line change, too.
Now Home Red controls for a decent segment; eight seconds and a wide shot. Plekanec takes a puck away from somebody and charges down the left side.
Canadiens keep it in. Andrei K holds it against the boards. Canes finally force it out.
Just over six minutes left in the period.
Gill and Gorges leave for Markov and O’Byrne.
Moore line. Lapierre is with them, remember. Lapierre is working well.
Bergeron makes a slick stick defensive play on a one-on-one. Very nice.
Puck goes out. Canadiens can’t set up. Carolina snakes a puck through some legs.
Now Hamrlik makes a very smooth play of his own.
Back and forth but Carolina won’t go away. They drive in for another dangerous possession.
Siren goes accidentally; sure goal stopped by Halak. What a save.
It’s end to end now. Moore and Moen nearly combine on a backhander and a rebound.
Then a Carolina entry is rebuffed.
Markov takes it down the left side. Well past the circle. Follows his rebound. Hits someone high and hard in the Carolina corner to Ward’s right. Comes up with the puck as a result. Backhands it through the slot. Great need and delivery from Markov.
That was a captain’s play.
Just under two minutes now.
Sutter is on the left. Beats his coverage. Passes to the slot. Just a bit long. Sure scoring chance avoided by Montreal.
Eric Staal ambles in on the left. Doooown by the hash. Shot. Light and easy. Gloved by Halak.
There’s a reason that Staal’s shooting percentage is under ten. Uh. No, another reason.
Replay shows that the puck hopped over Whitney’s stick. On the scoring chance. Not on the water buffalo play.
Just under a minute. Gomez line. The new version. The three cowboys brought in here. To save us Indians.
Save us. I’ll be whatever you want me to be.
Two shots on the shift. Ward makes a good save to end their presence. A hopper from a deflected slap shot. Well not a hopper so much as a spinner. A knuckler. A painful, vulcanized gift. Hit his glove and fell. But he trapped it.
Period ends with not much else.
Martin is very irritated.
Adjusts his jacket and leaves the ice.
Carolina led 14-9 on shots for the period for a total of 24-16 overall.
I haven’t seen Martin so irritated before. It’s still in keeping with Martin’s low-key style. His eyes crinkle a bit and he looks sidelong about three seconds longer than normal.
He’s the kind of dad that gets disappointed. As opposed to heaving sofas around.
Second Intermission
Carolina 2, Montreal 1
Crete can afford to be amused. I’m not sure what about but he starts off the segment at a level orange jolly.
Joel shows us some turnovers. The turnover I blamed on O’Byrne was partially Markov’s fault, says Joel. Markov was a bit too aggressive. But O’Byrne also made a mistake on it as we see.
Another mistake is shown. Habs error. Gionta, who Joel says he loves, is shown slowing down a bit which allowed the backhander goal (with the trip).
Demers reviews some plays, as well. They shouldn’t play that music while Jacques reviews plays. It adds an unneeded undercurrent of tension for the former coach.
We were told last game that Demers will be leaving RDS to concentrate more fully on his new duties as a senator. An actual senator. He was named some months ago.
Political move. And this one is not worth pursuing here.
Alright, I’ll pursue it; Demers was selected by Harper knowing that Demers, who doesn’t make waves, will play the role of harmless, affable Frenchman. And add to the hoped-for illusion of non-partisan appointments.
I really don’t know anyone who is fooled by these illusions. Those who cite these gestures seem more in denial rather than duped.
Some highlights now. Pittsburgh is leading the Islanders 4-3.
Boston leads Buffalo 2-1. And New Jersey and Florida are tied 1-1.
We see some Tampa highlights and now I know that Mike Smith, the Lightning goalie, might be an unsavoury type. Good to know. He got tangled up in a fight with Chris Neil. Had no compunctions about using his blocker to deliver blows and a second Lightning player was third man in.
How’s your moronic code going?
Renaud interviews Gionta. Boring. Does anyone actually enjoy these between-period interviews?
Third Period
Carolina 2, Montreal 1
Intensity is a bit lower. First two minutes are shotless with Montreal controlling the ice. Plekanec line. Gomez line.
Moore hops on.
Now Moen takes an accidental tripping.
Carolina scores. McBain shoot-passes it to Staal at the side of the net. It’s a tennis ball over a lidless barrel.
Carolina 3, Montreal 1
Canadiens respond right away. Long shot goes in. How?
Bergeron on a one-timer off a quick pass after the entry.
Carolina 3, Montreal 2
Kostopoulos gets a chance from a corner pass. Houde’s voice rises quickly.
Canadiens watch Jussi Jokinen skate freely along their boards.
Moore moves it out finally.
Lapierre has it underneath. To Markov on the point. To Bergeron. Shot is wide. Wrist lifter.
Cammalleri gets two golden keys on his next shift. One goes high. The other is off a bouncer from the end-boards and he can’t put it in the opening to Ward’s left.
Some cycling from Pouliot, Plekanec and Andrei K.
New line.
One fanned shot.
Samsonov falls inside the Montreal blue line handling it, looking for a receiver. He fell looking one way and reaching his stick another.
Moore is tripped by Conboy as he exits the Montreal zone. Delayed call allows Montreal to pull Halak and try to set up. They hold onto the puck for a good chunk of time; maybe fifteen seconds, mostly in the neutral zone. They move it in and then turn it over on a long slot pass from the blue.
Whistle goes and Montreal will go to the power-play.
There must be a gadget that mutes commercials automatically. I really am running out of patience after five years of Hab-watching mutiny. I mean muting.
Are thugs mentally challenged? Or are the mentally challenged thugs?
Just wondering.
Gomez, Cammalleri and Gionta are the first wave.
They give up a short-side, short-handed shot from the off-wing. Larose. Halak has to freeze it. Brunet says that Gionta wasn’t sure if Markov was going to pick up a puck in the neutral zone. The resulting hesitation led to the exit.
Ward makes a save going left. Long shot was from Bergeron on a one-timer. Ward looked like a marionette and I can’t shake the impression that the above-average Ward is one lucky puppet.
Hurricanes clear.
Imagine. Eighteen Hurricanes. In one hockey arena. Oh and some goalies.
Another Carolina clear.
Canadiens reset and re-enter. A shot is crest-trapped by Ward. Another long one.
Replay shows that Ward was very aware of the long shot by Bergeron. Cammalleri sent the pass from the under-circle. So that helped give Ward some advance notice.
Penalty ends.
Samsonov is on. He waits for the puck at the hash. Gets it. Leaves it for Kostopoulos. It goes to the point. And hops out.
Hurricanes drive it in. And it goes out of play.
I think talking on the sideline isn’t done enough. I mean from coaches behind the bench, of course.
Either extreme doesn’t work, of course. Too much talking and players shut you out. But too little leaves motivation fully in the hands of the player. And I’ll go with what Jimmy Johnson said; never leave motivation to the player; be involved actively with the motivation process.
I’m paraphrasing. Johnson won two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys as their head coach and was the primary architect for the revitalization of that franchise. The other guy just signed cheques.
Another stoppage.
Sergei has a pleasant expression as he observes from the bench.
We resume with the money boys on the ice again. They control. It’s a good line. Bergeron is up pinching and the puck leaves the zone.
Halak comes out thirty feet and along the boards to play the puck. Houde says it was a well-read decision.
Just over five minutes left.
If Montreal loses, there is a decent chance they will miss the playoffs.
Andrei K is turning and shooting as he rounds the Carolina net. Stopped.
Faceoff to Ward’s right. Import line.
They are sent out early.
Whitney and Cole combine for a two-on-one. But the finishing shot is not hard enough. Dribbler, in fact. And Halak’s pad is enough.
Another Carolina rush.
Montreal is taking chances and it is allowing Carolina exits. In fine style.
Lapierre line is on. Ward traps a puck. Faceoff.
Brindoin wins it.
Canadiens come up with it. Lapierre again. Where was this effort all season long?
Where has the champion been for the past fourteen rounds? (Spinks-Ali I)
Three on one. Pass. Shot. Stop. Rebound. Shot. Goal. Slot.
Carolina 4, Montreal 2
Andrei K is shown not doing enough on the backcheck. And Brunet is right.
Two and a half minutes left in the game.
Well, it’s not as if this team deserves anything for 2009-10. Maybe a few paycheques.
How many young or immature players can a team afford? Maybe these days that number has to be many fewer.
Price. Immature. Andrei Kostitsyn. Immature. Sergei Kostitsyn. Immature. Maxim Lapierre. Immature. Ryan O’Byrne. Immature.
Five guys have capsized this team? Is that possible?
Carolina scores in an empty net.
Several ugly hats make their way onto the ice. Red and white identical hats.
Carolina 5, Montreal 2
Martin n’est pas hereux.
Houde says that it was hat night and that most of the hats are back on the ice.
God do they look stupid all piled up like that.
And then we have to see Eric Staal’s vicious, doughy smile. The camera stays on him for agonizing seconds. More than twelve.
They are still sweeping the ugly hats off the ice.
Fedora night.
Saturday is Toronto.
Houde discusses the scenarios for Montreal to make it.
Toronto. On the last day.
Why are fans allowed to run this league?
Why are fans allowed to run this country?
Forty seconds.
Gill chases a puck to the boards. Disc is kept in on the blue line. Finally Montreal clears. Retrieval and reset by Carolina leads to a turnover inside the Montreal zone. Andrei Kostitsyn takes it away.
It leads to a brief, shotless possession with Benoit Pouliot working to the end. Sends a slot pass across. Mid-slot. No sticks reply.
Horn goes. Or whatever that loud thing is.
Carolina 5
Montreal 2
HDS Stars: Ray Whitney, Cam Ward, Scott Gomez
RDS Stars: Eric Staal, Chad LaRose, Jamie McBain
When’s the last time this team made its administrators look good? It’s always the other way around and has been for about 17 years.
Ok. Maybe coming back from 3-1 down against Boston in 03-04.
I mean the question in its most complex variance.
Bergeron says the Canadiens aren’t a proud team. And to some degree this resonates with me. There are several guys on the team that are. But there are some who are not.
If you can’t take pride (in your play), go play somewhere where good hockey doesn’t matter. I’m sure you can guess where that might be.
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