Montreal Canadiens vs. Carolina Hurricanes
March 30, 2011, by Homme de Sept-Îles
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 (41-29-7) visit Carolina Hurricanes (36-30-10)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Game Seventy-Eight (score posted following scribbles)
Missed it? Musings capture the game in writing. A written transcript typed during the game, posted and edited about thirty minutes afterward. Based on the RDS French telecast of the Montreal Canadiens game, 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. A unique way to re-experience the game.
click here to expand post (it looks prettier)
Price and Cam Ward are the goalies.
First Period
The first three shifts see two cautious teams, conscious of lanes and an implicated James Wisniewski, first behind the enemy net and then swooping in from the left point for a shot that he was certain would go in. Houde notes that the caged defenceman struck his stick on the ice in frustration following the near chance.
Just under fifteen and the Eller line makes its second appearance. They face a Corvo shot from the blue and are able to clear it, Eller.
Now Price gloves an advanced puck that the forwards can’t retain. Sopel guides a man to the net with his stick and action ends for a moment.
We resume with Cammalleri hopping, poking and speeding over the left-side blue. He sees and finds Sopel advanced on the other side. A shot attempt is tangled and Ward slows action for a faceoff to his left.
Bowman advances left-side. Desharnais line is in for Montreal.
Action has increased its rate. Short, crisp passes from Carolina as this line allows more space.
They exit. Cammalleri, right side. Plekanec dashing down the middle. Cammalleri’s long pass, goes through a lane but is well past Plekanec. And Carolina is able to stuff this entry, too. Ward holds it for the draw.
Brunet says that the team is showing more of what Martin wanted. Attack and don’t pause in the neutral zone.
Plekanec line. He and Cammalleri see a puck leave as they chase in the right corner. Cammalleri uses the escaping puck as an excuse to come to nearly a full stop.
Lines change and Gomez and Gionta are up top watching Carolina work the perimeter as if it’s a power-play. This lasts one blue line horizontal pass and long shot before two Habs get to the puck first behind Price.
Houde says that so far it’s a good confrontation and notes some good work between Skinner and Subban. He adds that Skinner, at the age of 18, is a very strong player. He marvels that the Markham, Ontario forward will only get better. Brunet continues the platitudes and Houde finishes with a remark on Skinner’s maturity. We see number 53 take a sip of water on the bench.
Ten minutes gone.
Cammalleri and Halpern are plugged on the right side blue-line entry point.
Carolina works the corner to Price’s right.
They’re out. Ward is forced to move right and left and then right again. Sopel’s advance creates a chance. Gomez is whirling. But Ward is up to it.
On the other end. Turnover under the end-line. Sopel takes a hit after a pass sets him up on Price’s right. It’s dug out and passed to Skinner in the slot, one step, a look and it’s in. Five-hole.
The crowd brays, Paul Maurice’s expression tightens and the home team is up one.
Carolina 1, Montreal 0
The arena is almost darkly lit and the white and red motif seems to say brigands are here and pirate death is near.
Gomez takes the draw against Eric Staal. Wins it deep left. It’s pushed back at the blue and then lobbed out where Roman Hamrlik has to hunker over from the left point to retrieve it outside the blue.
Montreal is back in Carolina ice as Eller and Kostitsyn work it in. Kostitsyn has it on the right. Standing tall, the heavy-man wrists it to the net. Tries to get around his coverage for the rebound. Coverage is there.
Under seven.
Chad Larose is in on the right. Shot goes high.
Halpern recovers a disc at the hash and sends a puck to the Montreal slot. Habs are out.
But not for long. Price has to trap another.
Faceoff. Won by Carolina. Canadiens have four men in the low slot. An inverted T formation. Ryan White is one of them. Hamrlik hustles out to take care of the disc.
Montreal rush. Wisniewski is advanced again. Ward has it. Gloved.
It’s playoff-style hockey and I wonder if Montreal is in the frame of mind. Carolina has their urgency level and their plan. They’re in ninth and they hope to catch Montreal, in sixth. Or whomever.
Skinner is shown again. Close-up of his crest and then we see Eric Staal leaning over the faceoff dot.
Gomez line.
Canadiens effect a longer possession. Gionta blocks a puck on the hash. Gomez steps into its path and shoots. No. Ward is low and closes the left arm to his torso. Another stoppage.
Eller line.
Eller loses the puck at the hash and Skinner emerges with the freebie. To the slot on a diagonal. Lifts it, backhand. In. Faked first.
Very nice goal. His second of the game. Brunet exults.
Carolina 2, Montreal 0
Houde says that just as the Canadiens were getting some decent pressure …
Four and a half.
Mara sends a puck long. Off a stick on entry. Stays live into the right corner. Larose sends it long. Both teams change lines.
Hamrlik retrieves. A move, an entry, a long shot advancing. Hits the end boards.
Pouliot has it under the end line. Moves one way, then the other and tries a slot pass. Nobody can get to it and it floats out between the two defenders. Habs are back in quickly. Under the end line.
Desharnais tries a similar pass through the slot. And it goes through untouched in similar fashion. That slot pass, a vertical, is one that more often results in a turnover than a scoring chance. Someone has to be parked. It’s a possession-ender.
Brunet compliments Desharnais’ work under the end line saying that Desharnais is very intelligent twice. Gionta is shown providing good support on the boards alongside the small Montreal centre.
Time flows down.
And I’m sneezing like a pepper dwarf. And all the other stuff besides. A white cardboard box and lots of used tissues. No, it’s not emotional. Still getting over this late-season cold.
Time escapes for the period.
Carolina led on shots 17-15.
Houde says that Montreal has put a lot of pressure on Ward and worked very hard. Brunet supports. It’s become a pantomime of support against perceived (and very real) fan pressure. Houde and Brunet take pains to be balanced or even supportive of the team these past few weeks. Even more than usual.
First Intermission
Carolina 2, Montreal 0
Maybe a salt dwarf makes more sense. Pepper dwarves are accustomed to pepper and don’t sneeze in situations that other dwarves (and humanoids) might.
Alain says that we’ve opened the game, we wanted more scoring, removed the hooking and so forth but here we are back to defensive hockey. Francois says facetiously, what needed to be done was to eliminate the video. He says that teams adjust using game tape and learn each others’ systems and find ways to shut each other down.
It leads to less goals-per-game all around.
Gagnon says that some players were injured who might have broken the 100-point barrier; Crosby, Malkin and Ovechkin and he adds that Kovalchuk had a difficult year and these absences have to be taken into consideration despite Sedin’s presence in the near-100 club (ed note: Daniel Sedin is at 98 points with about five games left; Martin St. Louis and Henrik Sedin, Daniel’s twin brother are tied at 91 points each).
Dominating goal-getters are not around. Alain says that to see a Rocket Richard Trophy-winner at under fifty goals does not sound right. Gagnon reiterates the injuries and then reminds us that Stamkos was on fire early in the season and seemed on the way to fifty goals in fifty games. But he cooled off (ed note: He’s at 44 goals with six games left).
Alain segues to Montreal’s low goal-scoring. Gagnon reminds us of the season in which Dainius Zubrus and Martin Rucinsky led the team with forty-something points each. He says it could be worse, with a smile.
That’s setting the bar a bit low. But perhaps worth the spin.
That season was 1999-00 when Montreal was the only team to finish with less than 200 goals. Rucinsky had 49 points (that’s goals and assists combined) to lead the team. Zubrus was second with 42. Of course, this has to be balanced by the fact that Montreal had 12 players with 20 or more points that season (ed note: you thought it was goals; big mistake). Still, the club finished last offensively.
This season, Montreal ranks 24th of 30 teams with 2.60 goals per game. They’ve been shut out nine times, tying a club record but they are at 203 goals. Not a lot. But New Jersey is last with 155 and Ottawa, up one rung at 177. Just to put it in perspective.
Oh, goals.
Part of the problem is the Martin system which requires forwards to start much deeper in their own zone (owing to defensive responsibilities). Teams that allow more free-wheeling are often more exciting and do score more also miss the playoffs far more often. Colorado, after a scorching start (the team featuring the bang-bang dance) are now on the outside looking in. They are in 14th of 15 teams in the West (eighth spot gets you to the playoffs) and despite leading the league in scoring for a time are done for the season. They are at 211 goals, by the way.
Second Period
Carolina 2, Montreal 0
Plastic surgery is not worth it, kiddies.
We resume.
Subban retrieves.
Puck goes out of play on a Cammalleri charge into the offensive zone.
He leaves the ice. Takes his seat. Halpern is making a cigar of his mouthguard. Another man who wouldn’t know who Justin Bieber is. I hardly do, myself. I may even have misspelt the kid’s name (ed note: No, you got it right).
Cole beats Wisniewksi. Around and into the slot for the shot. Price has it, moving left to right.
Faceoff.
Cole is still on. The ever-dangerous Erik Cole (23-26-49). Hits Darche on the hash and sends it across the slot. Watches his pass but there is no support.
Cole is an undertaker, hot needles and silk. There is no Carolina player I fear more.
White and Pouliot provide good board work and, perhaps not expecting it, Desharnais is late coming in to support and retain.
And those Cole numbers are goals, assists and points. D’accord? Ecoute.
Lines change. Eller. Mara and Sopel underneath.
Sopel has such a strange bearing; he’s like a body-wracked mini-Quasimodo. Hunched and eager. Always finding the puck. And he must as his speed is a liability.
Plekanec’ trio. Cammalleri falls over a stick. Makes sure to fall. Sutter’s stick. Across the entry line. Replay shows that Cammalleri didn’t have much choice but to fall.
Gomez, Desharnais, Gionta. Subban and Wisniewski low.
Aggressive corners from Cole and Jussi Jokinen. Cole intercepts a pass easily, cruises to the boards, kills more precious seconds and clears it.
Next segment ends at the hydrant, a sad turnover.
Fifty seconds. New trio. Plekanec. To Kostitsyn at the hydrant. Nearly finds the slot for a scoring chance.
To the blue. Wisniewski. To the end line. One man in the low slot. Cammalleri beside him. Has it. Short side. I watch the back of the net. And Cammalleri makes magic. One move, a few more. Roofs it. Gorgeous.
His seventeenth. All is forgiven if he can do that once every two games.
Is that all I’m worth? Is that all a Hab fan is worth?
Forty goals, baby (ed note: How about forty-one?).
Carolina 2, Montreal 1
Under fourteen.
McBain fires from the right point. Tink. And in. Number four punches gloves and returns to the bench.
Stillman glided along the end line. Sent a pass to the blue that deflected into the corner and then back to McBain. A good slapshot but a bit lucky, too.
Carolina 3, Montreal 1
Montreal is in. To the net. Houde gets staccato. Darche. Misses one. And then Gomez keeps it going. But no.
Price retrieves. Suddenly sends one as long as he can (legally) and finds Plekanec on the left side at the blue point. He takes his steps and fires the slapper. And it’s an easy save for Ward. Plekanec’ shot is not as powerful as certain other players. And from that distance (about 37 feet), it’s not likely to go in these days. Regardless of who shoots it.
The goaltenders are much better and it isn’t 1978 anymore. Wild beards, small pads and flopping goalies are long-gone.
They were fun, weren’t they.
Faceoff.
Deep right.
Plekanec wins it. To the point. Shot. Wide of everything.
And on Montreal ice, a stoppage.
Plekanec wins this draw, as well. On the boards. It slips up to the blue. Shot. Trapped.
Brunet says that Chad Larose is well-liked in Carolina. Lots of Larose jerseys. Brunet says that he’s a free agent this summer.
Great.
Houde mentions a few other note-worthy names, as well. Good.
Get us the good ones. Not just the French ones. Nothing against Larose. Don’t have an opinion on the guy. Seems serviceable.
Plekanec line is on again.
Split-shifting.
Habs are rolling around, falling, chasing. Puck goes to the point. Shot. In.
Carolina 4, Montreal 1
High slot shot by Pitkanen. Subban had fallen. Wisniewski, too.
Fameux: 1
Martin calls a timeout.
He says a few things. He is not heard. He swears several times but mostly to himself.
Are they going to listen?
Plekanec, Gionta and Cammalleri. Early effort.
And it continues.
Hamrlik advances to take a shot. In traffic. And out. Habs are in again.
Right side Carolina entry. Samson. Shot. Gloved. Price holds it.
Unraveled, the two-finger glove. Rotted red and strings hanging.
Martin doesn’t like making a public spectacle of himself. The players know it. Did he call the time-out because the talk radio guys second-guess his time-outs every morning?
I hope not.
Faceoff to Price’s left.
This city is hockey. So is that one. And the pressure slowly cracks a man. Does anyone flourish in this kind of hockey environment? Maybe Reggie Miller might.
Or not.
Koivu asked to leave, I suspect. Others tailed off, brilliant careers ended on the tail of a disappearing comet. Lafleur scored two goals in his last 39 games as a Hab. He was just 33.
Under nine.
The only way out is to apply what one has left.
Came to play may as well play. Came to play, may as well win.
The Hurricanes can’t believe their luck. Are they a team that loosens and can’t retighten? Montreal must find out.
It’s too bad that the season is so tightly defined; each team plays eighty-two games. And no matter what point of the progression curve they’re on, when it ends, it ends for all thirty.
And the playoffs for some.
Desharnais wins the draw. To the point for Mara. His shot thunders but wide.
Houde has been reminding us in recent weeks that Mara does have a great shot.
Seven.
A mistake. A four on three wave, nothing is going right, says Houde. And the shot. Off glass high behind Price.
Samson.
Stoppage.
Samson is from Greenfield Park (ed note: A suburb of Montreal). I forgot. I was wondering why they’re talking about him so much. Who cares where a guy is from. Just play for the crest.
Gionta goes wide and then torques a sparked greaser across the slot. Unexpected but the opening is there. Unexpected and no Canadiens forward responds.
Cammalleri. Inspired. Across the blue. Looks and finds Gill on the left point. Moves it forward. Canadiens control. Cammalleri goes to the net, works, reaches and finally dives with some embellishment to prevent the puck from leaving. It’s much better and the goal has flipped the switch.
But the team needs more than flipped switches.
Price is low. Hooking. Probably Montreal. They go to a break.
Montreal penalty.
Carolina power.
First thirty seconds are negligible.
Carolina is confident and flying around. Big leads are good for the soul.
Halpern and Gill combine to push the home team out.
Fifty-two seconds as Corvo pushes it out. And it’s sent out again as it crosses the blue.
Forty seconds. One shift at a time. And hopefully a late-period goal.
Gionta lifts a puck. And sends it down.
One last entry. Cole. Right side. Staal. To McBain at the blue. Shot is wide.
Habs exit.
Moen. Right side. Sends it. Slot low. Plekanec just misses it. Moen has been valorous on offence in recent games. Unexpected. But the moxie isn’t.
Desharnais. Works under the end line.
To the blue. Canadiens get some control. To Hamrlik on the right side. Blasts it in to keep the possession going.
White and Desharnais in a deep corner. Finally the Canes force it out.
One minute.
Killing penalty has given the team hope. Cammalleri crosses the blue. Dangerous shot. Just wide.
Can he score from that distance.
Price stops Jokinen at the muzzle. Houde compliments Skinner who set it up. From under the end line. Great play. Someone has to target him. In a good way. You know, bump him off the puck and such.
Ten seconds.
Plekanec sings one off the outside of the post. And not much else.
Montreal led on shots 14-11 for a 31-26 advantage.
Second Intermission
Carolina 4, Montreal 1
I guess Alain Crete has the host title. He says that on the main tableaux, that Montreal is behind. Le tableau principale. Not sure about the “x”.
Well, maybe it’s good to go in uncertain, bumbling, winning once and then losing the next. The uncertainty gives the team the sense of having to work every night. It’s not a dynastic formula, though.
It’s a one-run mentality that leaves the less self-directed a sense of false confidence. It all falls apart after that. Several teams have demonstrated as much since the lockout. There isn’t much difference between the teams and a Cup ring is given each season regardless of the valour and skill shown by the team winning enough games to receive it. Earning it is another matter altogether.
Unearned rings. Unrewarded championships. Both are worth considering.
Third Period
Carolina 4, Montreal 1
Alex Auld is in. This game outcome is not Price’s fault, though. Removing the goalie not only sends a message but can protect a goalie’s confidence or shield his pride. These are relevant considerations even at the pro level.
One might say even moreso at the pro level where the egos are at their largest.
Bowman nearly beats Auld from a horizontal as the backup didn’t see the puck.
Price is shown. He looks briefly at the camera and then looks down. There’s a bit of stubble. He’s not his goofy self at the moment. Nor his languid, self-aware persona. These late-season long deficits were not part of the plan.
Faceoff to Auld’s right.
Action is brisk. Glass has broken. Somehow.
Some Hab fan effects concern and then stands up to give the thumb up. He’s holding some grub in his left hand. RDS sees fit to give him a close-up. He’s wearing a Patrick Roy jersey, is Anglophone, balding and with two others also in Hab gear. A girl and a buddy. The way he said “yeah” was Anglophone.
Gill gazes up. Then down. Lost in his thoughts. Blinking. The arena men repair the glass, meantime. And Houde sends us to a sponsor.
How does it feel. It’s habitual if not natural to see variances on parabola when visualizing a season. One hopes that one’s team is at its apex by the third or fourth round of the playoffs. The fourth round is the final round, of course.
But it’s not a parabola most seasons. It’s more like bad radio signals from the Arctic. Green lightning, brittle in pattern and unforgiving in radio frequency. The signal cuts out and sometimes flatlines. For good.
And then the names change. But the names that stay the same, those certain media members, those certain (thousands upon thousands of) fans and the other wanderers, wanna-bes and hopefuls. The game makes children of us. And the business brushes us by, a shabby, brusque twist of the head.
And as I type this, the unpleasant Rod Brind’Amour is shown in the crowd. He scowls lightly, a frown on his face throughout. His hair is gelled and his suit looks overly expensive. He’s the former Hurricane captain. His supporters might describe him as ruddy, a man’s man and a playoff performer with grit and leadership. His detractors find him off-putting, unsavoury and disturbing. Not a clean player. A bully on ice.
They’re showing the balding snack-man again. Hard to read. Beer in hand. Now a shot of Paul Maurice. Now a ruddy fan and his annoyed, needing to sleep chubby daughter is in his arm. She’s about one and a half. He’s about forty and a half. Thin and balding. And practiced laugh lines.
Now they go to commercial.
Quebeckers talk about some product with overly emphasized joy. It’s disturbing.
Forty and a half. Like that?
We return to the rink (formerly known as the Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena). How about calling it Red Rubble instead? It’s named after some boring bank at the moment.
More repairs. Bench shot. White, Pouliot and Moen chat. Desharnais talks with Subban. Sopel, the company man is listening to Pearn. And the rest of the bench is in their own worlds.
More cheerleader shots. Reseau is busy finding the so-called pretty women in the crowd. Suddenly they shift to the banners above.
The Hurricane rink staff are all wearing red hockey-style helmets. They have a fireman feel to them.
Ward slowly loses his heat. Montreal has time to refocus. They return to the ice and skate around in irritated, self-reflective circles.
Skinner is enjoying himself. A shared laugh and bright smile. More smiling on the Carolina bench. Stillman. Maurice retains his teacherly demeanour.
They’re almost ready to resume.
Darche talks shop with an official. They discuss the glass breakage. Darche says “I don’t know what happened” and raises eyebrows.
They resume. Eighteen minutes.
All seems possible again.
Wisniewski. Ups the puck. Brief possession. It ends and Hamrlik retrieves.
Action is tepid. Around the end boards. Cammalleri pretends to forecheck. Just cruises behind the defenceman. It’s the end of his shift.
Leaves the ice.
Not good enough.
I’m back to the eighteen linebacker mentality. Really, that’s how Philly does it. And Laviolette is shrewd enough, smart enough to make the most of it. And they have that one flying line.
Wisniewski falls. Hooking. Weak call. Staal. Crowd boos.
They call all of those.
Staal is annoyed but the score tempers his reaction. He looks up at the scoreboard. Down. Back up again. And finally down. He wears the C for captain.
Montreal power.
What a clod. Cammalleri has given up. One or two men care enough to create a chance and when the puck scoots out into the slot, Cammalleri puts in too little burst to get to it. He’s got his goal. He’s done for the night. Our Man from Richmond Hill.
And for now, I’m done with him, too.
I’ve got my musing for the night.
What an attitude.
Penalty evaporates with little else.
Who gives a hoot?
Halpern. Skates up. Darche. Still going. To the net. Suddenly Wards has the turtle at his feet. And no sticks reply.
Who else? Auld. Darche again. Slides to block a shot while Gomez watches from the bench.
Plekanec line.
Cammalleri. Down the middle. Wing pass. To the blue. Long shot. Ward contains it.
Break.
And a few others round out the give-a-hoot list. Watch and you’ll see.
This is another reason Theoren Fleury will be right. Maybe not in the first round but surely the moment they face a genuine playoff creature; say Chicago, Anaheim or Detroit. The Canucks read their clippings. And a number of them believe them. It’s too bad. Being anointed isn’t always a good thing.
Gionta goes to the net. Is hacked. It’s called. Staal.
A distracted one-hand stick high across the chest. Staal looks down. And then up.
PK Subban blasts it in.
From the blue.
Carolina 4, Montreal 2
Left point. Offwing shot. I like it. The location. Pass was from Wisniewski. Twelfth for our personal Bobby Orr.
Just under eleven.
He’s more like Orr than Coffey. Orr was robust. Coffey was slithery. Both were great. Orr was better, of course. Had the defensive play to go with it.
Now, I know it’s Subban’s first season. So I’m just talking about potential. And since most of the league brain-trust (the brachiosaurus brains, mind you) have decided to denigrate Subban and have unanointed him (he was once anointed, remember, the junior days?) I will occasionally throw out a few golden cashews.
Subban. Like Orr.
Chew on that skin, Cherry.
And now Subban disappoints Houde (and the rest of us) by taking a needless penalty.
Disanointed?
Brunet remarks that Subban has 110 penalty minutes this season. He says it as if he just realised this. Defencemen will tend to have more penalty minutes (PIM) than other players. Because they are often committing infractions to prevent scoring chances. However 110 is a bit much. He’s had a couple of majors for fighting (five minutes each) and so on. But still. It’s true that our personal Bobby Orr has some growing to do in the discipline and selfishness department.
It’s considered selfish to take a penalty for personal (revenge) reasons at inopportune times. Opportune times are when a team is leading by, say, three goals. A safe lead. Yes, I know how it all sounds.
Stoppage.
It’s part of the game.
Both clocks are frozen. It’s 8:08 and 0:28. Reseau removes the graphic entirely now. It’s a bit of a relief. Look at all that extra ice.
Cane rush. Two on two with spacing. A pass. A shot. And how was the net missed?
Penalty ends.
Faceoff to Auld’s right. Gomez loses it. Quick whistle as the puck drifts to the blue. They redo it.
Ruutu wins this one, as well. But Jokinen’s careless pass is cradled by Sopel who loses it as well.
And another stoppage.
To Auld’s right.
Gomez. Bumps. Loses it. And another quick whistle.
Booing. Jokinen. Swears as he is asked to leave the circle. “Fucked up” he says. Lotta nerve for a foreigner. Was the linesman young (and foolish)?
Hey, I don’t give a hoot where you’re from. You shouldn’t either.
What did Gionta miss, exclaims Houde. Open net. Houde says his stick wasn’t even on the ice. Houde adds that this is the kind of thing that comes with fatigue.
Gionta nods to a teammate on the bench. His mouthguard looks bloodied. Faded pink on opaque plastic.
Under five.
Plekanec. Turns and fires at a Kostitsyn rebound.
Here comes team red. The home team.
Rush. Bulge.
Auld is beaten short side.
Ugly.
Brunet notes the Auld was retreating and giving McBain more room as a result.
An older Habs fan shakes her head behind Martin. Martin is scribbling in his pad.
Gomez line.
Subban drives. Leaves it at the blue. Goes to the net. Nothing forthcoming. Returns to the blue. Puck finds him. Fired. Three Habs to the crease. Halpern falls. Ward is down. Moen is there. Puck is shot into the net. Darche. Halpern blocked it. With his back. Awful.
Faceoff to Ward’s right. Puck is fallen on. Now it’s cleared. Gill gets to it first. Shoves his man into the end boards.
Now some scuffling. Brunet says this is rare between the two teams. Houde says they didn’t like Gill’s geste (gesture). Neither team has agitators, says Houde. Subban and another dude are yelling at one another. The officials are in control of this one.
Gill didn’t like what Larose said to him. Started up with him.
Subban leaves the ice. Lots of fans are waving at him. Price can hear it all. He looks up, unimpressed as Subban heads to the dressing room.
Sabres won 1-0. Houde talks over the standings. Buffalo is at 87 points. Montreal is at 89. Buffalo is playing so much better than Montreal. And Rangers are at 87, as well. Carolina is in ninth. All those teams are playing better hockey than Nos Canadiens.
Three minutes. Carolina power.
Stoppage. Mara’s beard is deep orange cotton. Flammable thickness. Tufts of toughness. I wouldn’t mess with him.
Puck is fired in. Hamrlik and Wisniewski battle along the end boards.
This team could be eliminated. From the playoffs.
Stillman scores.
I hear a big ship in the Sept-Iles bay. Stillman is about as dangerous as Cole. It’s only his eleventh of the season. But don’t be shocked if he notches five in these playoffs. Should they make it.
Carolina 6, Montreal 2
So. We like making it hard.
Hamrlik is in the box.
Two minutes.
Gionta. Three across. Carolina sets up. McBain shoots. I watch the back of the net. Yeah, I know.
Ninety seconds.
Skinner robbed by Auld. Houde’s pulse quickens my own.
Just over a minute.
What a late-season collapse.
And again, I have to wonder, how much did the Pacioretty incident, non-fining and all, affect this team?
There are many other factors.
Penalty ends.
One last Montreal rush. Spirited. Gill takes a shot.
And one more blast from the foghorn.
Parabola are fine on blackboards.
Blackboards are fine in class.
The seas of hockey endeavour are best sailed with philosophers at the helm.
C’est froid.
Final Score
Carolina 6
Montreal 2
HDS Stars: Jeff Skinner, Erik Cole, Cory Stillman
RDS Stars: Jeff Skinner, Cam Ward, Michael Cammalleri
Cammalleri. They love ‘im don’t they. RDS stars are selected by the viewers. HDS stars are selected by some literary goon.
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