Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins
April 21, 2011, by Homme de Sept-Îles
Musings and In-Game Scribbles playoffs
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).
#6 Montreal Canadiens (44-30-8)
host
#3 Boston Bruins (46-25-11)
Thursday, April 21st, 2011
Round One – Playoffs
Game Four (score posted following scribbles)
Canadiens Lead Series 2-1
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)
Henri Richard, a hand in pocket passes a flaming torch to a youngster. Richard is in his captain’s jersey and has an amused and awkward smile. The youngster skates alone and then bends down at centre ice. Flames burst across the rink, figuratively, and the cheese bomb is done.
How embarrassing.
Just roll the basketballs to centre court.
Jeff Halpern is in the lineup after a long absence. Benoit Pouliot, goalless in his last 25, will sit it out. The 35 year-old Halpern is a canny old centre with very good penalty-kill abilities and is the best faceoff man on the team.
Where’s Charles? Some Joseph Kaiser dude is in his place. Good voice, sure.
Tim Thomas’ visage is one of integrity. Doctor Recchi looks down as the anthem is sung. Marchand, too. He was interviewed earlier; he’s Anglo, by the way. Halifax dude.
Halpern is standing at the bench, closest to the exit to the trainer’s room hallway. Auld is in the hallway itself.
Thomas squirts some water on the crease area, drinks some, squirts some on his face and then some more on the ice before taking a final sip.
The controversial Stephen Walkom is one of the refs. Ian what’s his name is the other.
First Period
Bruins win the draw. Ference is booed. Doctor Recchi is hit hard by Hamrlik. Crowd forgets the booing.
Habs work it down. Gomez. Moen chasing. Moen bumps his man off the puck and nearly one-hands the puck away. The fallen Bruin isn’t enough and the visitors recover and clear.
Faceoff to Price’s left. He’s tight and low before setting up glove high for the drop.
Plekanec is preceded by a trapped Kostitsyn. Claude Julien effects his calm one hand in pocket demeanour.
Habs win the draw and a fired puck goes up high near the blue. It’s touched a bit high by Boston and another whistle stops action.
Bruins win it.
Chara is booed. Pass to Kaberle. For Krejci. Intercepted. Bruins reset. Lucic over the left side. Krejci loses it on the boards with Lucic wandering near the circle-top.
Habs take over. Eller’s long puck is too far and intercepted but the youngster corrects the gaffe with a body-check that separates the man from the puck.
Eller now has it and lobs it down the centre. Thomas has it and plays it to a mate.
Bruins. Long pass. Wisniewski has it. Behind Price. Out. Outlet to the left for Pyatt. Puck skips up and a stick and swipe later, another whistle.
Kaberle is back on the bench. Desharnais, Pyatt and White for Montreal. Peverley and Ryder for Bruins. Pace is slow.
Habs are in. Low. Now to Gill on the point. Low wrister. No. Stays in.
Another Gill shot. Always with the low-velocity, well-aimed shot to prevent deflections and turnover-fed rushes. This one is off a stick.
They trade the puck.
Doctor Recchi’s slot pass is dangerous and results in a slow turning backhand. Wide. Price was across. Another shot, further away is up and out of play.
Doctor Recchi had the backhand.
Just wide.
Draw outside Montreal ice. Subban has it. Brakes and looks. Up. They’re across. To Subban. A shot. This one finds a lane. But no deflections or further control.
Moments later Habs ice.
Joel says that both benches are tension bands.
Boston wins the draw. Long shot. Decent save by Price. Kostitsyn carries. Eller with him. On the boards. Kostitsyn’s helmet flies off. Stays on the boards. And then it’s out.
Thomas plays one behind his net.
Habs maintain.
Spacek with a long shot. Off something. Close.
Stays in. Spacek across for Sopel. Kaberle blocks his shot.
Lines change. Brief gap. Eller steps in for the interception.
Paille is in on the right. Shot. Price has it, closed pads and on his knees. Whistle. Some bumping. White is in there. Not much more. They separate willingly.
Lot of talk about the first goal before the game. Sure. But there’s more to the game than the first goal.
Boston faceoff series stat is shown. They are dominating this area; all games over fifty including this one. Montreal numbers are in the forties. Uh. Yeah. Well.
Moen in the crease. Traffic. Thomas. Faceoff.
Gomez line.
Bergeron sends a long one cross-ice and into the corner.
Over the blue. Shot. V-rebound. Huge gap. Hamrlik’s shot. And somehow Thomas is across. Stick and mojo besides.
Twelve and a half.
Sopel carries it out. Skates some and then passes as he nears the blue. Deep corner left. White, Desharnais and Cammalleri.
To the point. Sopel. Shoots. Scores. He’s happy. His teammates are overjoyed for him. Especially White. Beat Thomas over the right pad. It’s Sopel’s first playoff goal.
Montreal 1, Boston 0
He stays on the ice for the next sequence.
Eller carries. Around his net. Montreal controls. Eller again. Across the circles, working on his backhand. One shot results.
Bruins are befuddled. They send the puck long. Crowd takes the time to wave towels and stand.
Faceoff to Thomas’ right. Won by Montreal. Gomez. To the blue. Across. Shot. But Boston retakes. Snarled at centre ice.
Hamrlik’s long pass on the reset is right to a Bruin. Was a Canadien leaving the ice?
Long Montreal puck. Icing.
Gomez and Hamrlik combine to win a draw to Price’s left. It’s out.
Bruins collect. But they enter offside.
Plekanec line.
Bruins seem to have settled. Some short, mild passing gets them to centre ice. But Cammalleri disrupts this possession and Chara has to carry from his zone. To Seidenberg. Shot down. Behind the net. Subban takes the puck off an uninspired Lucic.
Under eight.
Spacek. Across to Sopel.
Long pass is intercepted.
Sopel chases into the end-boards and is bumped. The puck is out of Montreal ice, nonetheless.
Gomez line. Moen. Into the corner.
Moen. Gomez. Pressure. Back to Gomez. More pressure. To the point for Hamrlik. Shot.
Gionta finds an opening. Holds, holds. But Thomas is across. Great pressure for several seconds.
Finally the Bruins slow it down. Recchi. For Chara. Intercepted by Gill inside the blue. Advances and winds up. Shot. No.
Subban retrieves. Crosses. Beats two men on stickhandling.
Puck is back to the blue for Halpern. Big wind-up. Blast. Into men in the crease.
More Montreal pressure but Thomas is sturdy and finds the disc. Holds it for the draw. Crowd is up and cheering. Pressure is nice. Sure.
Goals are something else.
Martin is wearing an unusual light-brown jacket.
Where have sweaters gone? What about bow-ties? Raincoats?
Boston power.
First segment sees wild shooting and a Plekanec carry-out.
Chara chases another puck out of his zone.
Desharnais slows Chara behind the end-line. It’s almost comic. The crowd loves it. Johnny and the Giant.
Bruins are kept out. Seidenberg. For Peverley. For Ference at the blue. Snarled. Intercepted.
Another interception. Cammalleri this time. Va, va.
One last entry. Subban wraps his stick over another’s. Gill finishes the job.
Penalty ends.
Gomez and Gionta are marvels on ice. Gomez’ work is beyond expected. Steals one and finds Moen in the muzzle. Just took it off the man on sheer will. The Moen shot is off-target. More chase and glorious fire. But play is whistled.
Where has Gomez been all season. (Tremendous action from the champion, where has he been the previous 14 rounds?)
Well. It came to mind.
Cammalleri spits on the ice.
Gomez is back on.
Wins the draw.
To the blue. Across. Shot. Trapped on the surface by Thomas.
Gionta and Wisniewski discuss something. Gionta is listening and in mild strategic disagreement.
Bruins win it.
Marchand for Bergeron; nearly perfect. Somehow the puck skips over the net. Was it Price? Some Carey Carey chants. Hard to tell.
Marchand. High slot. Wrister. One of his better shots. Price has this one.
Replay shows that Price was across but Bergeron didn’t have the angle. How, though. He was right in front.
Faceoff. Bruins win. Clear it in. Subban loses it. Krejci works the end boards. Wins it. To the hash. Poor angle shot from Chara. A placement shot. Crest save. Brunet says that if there isn’t any traffic that kind of shot will be easy for Price.
One and a half.
Lucic. Carries. Subban can’t wrestle the puck away.
Bruins take one away. Swirl in slow. Turning as one. But the quality shot can’t be had.
Desharnais down the left. His spirit is intact and this is his best period of the series. Bad sign for Boston. He’s like Cournoyer.
White bumps a man. Puck escapes ahead. Not much more as the siren goes.
Montreal led on shots 15-8. Much better start.
But Thomas is undaunted.
First Intermission
Montreal 1, Boston 0
Sopel is interviewed by Luc Gelinas. Sopel is genial in his politeness. Says all the boring right things. He’s quickly become one of the best-liked Habs.
Second Period
Montreal 1, Boston 0
Gomez loses the draw. Habs are to it first. Ahead for Gionta. Behind the net. Lost. Gomez nearly intercepts. Gionta follows and takes the bleated puck. Fires wide.
Bruins are nervous
Habs are pressing.
Four close the box and Plekanec is out. Under his end line. Any lost puck is supported by a lightning Hab.
I shake my head. Why couldn’t they play like this in March? Gad.
Price. Save, high glove whippet angled arm. It drops. Behind him. Cleared out.
Lines change swiftly. McQuaid is on. The Bruins will settle down.
Long pass. Ryder. Free. Shot. Scores. The puck lies wet in the net.
Failed line change.
Great shot. His first goal of the playoffs.
Ryder. Still love him.
Boston 1, Montreal 1
Crowd is out of it for a moment but finds an excuse to cheer on an Eller entry. Sudden crowd to the net. Jamming. No. Halpern was there.
With Gomez’ line playing the way they are, we are finally going to see what this team is capable of. With Gomez playing the way he is, I should say.
Stoppage. Faceoff to Thomas’ right is won by Boston.
Another long Bruin pass is intercepted.
Gomez’ shot. Another big v rebound and what should have been a goal. Moen’s shot wasn’t hard enough says Houde.
Plekanec. Covered. Fast. Shot. Angle is easy for Thomas.
Now the three forwards crowd the low slot and nearly score. Thomas is falling, flopping, stacking and stopping it all. The bodies bump and the tension is gold steel and flaming red, white and blue tatterflag.
Ole, ole chant becomes beery and Boston’s turnovers are reminiscent of their first two regular season games.
More pressure. How did Cammalleri miss. What a creation. It goes to the corner. They work anyway. Gionta. To the slot. Shot. Pass. Shot. What. Thomas is turned and beaten. He slams his stick. Subban was in there.
Montreal 2, Boston 1
This crowd is hockey, this team is terrifying, this city is ours.
Down the right. Kostitsyn to the net. Plekanec finds him. It’s in. In. In.
Button in your coat.
What a finish. Shovel slap.
Thomas is a beaten and fallen man at the side of the net. And Andrei Kostitsyn’s smile isn’t a kid’s.
Montreal 3, Boston 1
Ole, ole chant.
Timeout Boston.
Kostitsyn stays on the ice. Remember when Guy would stay after a goal? Remember? I know you do.
Twelve oh six.
When both forward lines are working, the Canadiens are a different team. The ratchet holes move over and the wheel shines at a different angle.
And the hub remains your buddy Price. He makes a solitary save and returns to watching his renewed team.
Sopel. From behind his net. God I hate the cap. We could still have Bonk. Even Higgins. Burger man.
Bruins need something. And they get it from a man who has no post-trauma. Peverley. On his own. Scrambling, stickhandling. Horizontal in the neutral and now turning and in. The high shot. And it wasn’t easy. Price has this one.
Joel reminded us before the telecast that Kaberle has been a disappointment for the Bruins. But they need him, too. Where are the Bruins? They’re probably as shocked as most of the rest of us.
It’s all connected and Scott Gomez’ revival is the igniting point.
Carbo was shown clapping. Down at the low bowl. C’est toujours son equipe, aussi. L’autre Homme de Sept-Iles.
Bergeron takes the draw to Price’s left.
Gomez wins the draw. He’s not done.
This is where the team might slow were it regular season. Instead they get a flambeau from the man who would have been captain.
Here’s an interception. Here’s a check. Here’s a real chase. All Gomez.
Bruins are across. Ference. Blast. Catches net. Stepped into a lost puck. Riser, wobbling. Over Price’s glove.
Montreal 3, Boston 2
Brunet says that despite the two goals, Montreal is still playing much better than Boston. It sounds forced.
And Lucic adds to the farce by driving and nearly driving over a man on the left.
Barrel stops rolling, though. Montreal is back in deep. Lose it.
Chara retrieves. Milder booing.
Nine.
Sopel. Desharnais. Lost at centre ice.
The game is ragged. Montreal remembers their box.
Thornton one-timer at the low circle. Over the net. Lotta hockey left. Lotta hockey (Bill Cowher tone).
Wisniewski fell on the Boston goal and the replay shows how the goal came about.
Andrew Ference gave the Montreal crowd the finger after the goal. He’s from Edmonton, Alberta. Alberta. Home of hockey class. Not even Mark Messier stooped to such levels. Replay was shown. Houde was understated. He knows that this is going to be wildfire.
Faceoff to Price’s left.
Somehow some Boston writer is going to turn this against Montreal fans and the entire province.
He gloves a high Bergeron shot.
Ference. Should he be suspended? Or just expelled?
I wonder if CBC caught it.
Seven.
Bruins get a bit rough. Chara punches someone in the face. Houde is politic. He’s like a professor. I’m like an old furnace. Subban. Carries. Looking. Around the Bruin net. Spaces open. But no. What exciting work from the youngster.
Boston rush. Montreal rush. No shots. Under the end line. Sopel advances.
At the hash. Pyatt. It’s out, though.
Lines change.
Crowd doesn’t like something. Action gets a bit chippy. Chara shoves Halpern into the end boards. Halpern maintains balance and manages to get his stick on the puck. C’est tous bonne guerre.
Long Chara wrister. Just wide. Those long Bruin shots. Always a chance.
Gionta. Right side. Gomez to the net. Falls. Thomas gloves over Gomez’ head. Puck is gone. Gomez is allowed to leave.
Gomez tries the rush down the middle. Turnover.
Boston is in. Ference. Long shot wide. Into the corner. Should we give him the finger for missing?
It’s hard to get a particular finger up in a hockey glove. But Ference managed.
Price stops play with a save.
Perry Pearn is interviewed. Pearn’s conversational Timmy tone is reassuring. We have to get back to dumping the puck past their defencemen, he says.
Three and a half.
All Habs on deck. Wisniewski. Hamrlik. They make their box.
To the end line. Doctor Recchi. Now Marchand. Shot. Rebound. Deposited. Crowd is silenced. Bergeron scored. Conn Smythe. Viewers will back it up.
Boston 3, Montreal 3
Montreal continues the attack. Kostitsyn. Right side. But he loses the puck. Horton is working. Falls over a stick at the hash. Krejci supports. Puck is out. Gill retrieves. To Subban. Sent deep. Under the end line.
Bruins cruise out. Kaberle. Keeps. Over. Keeps. Shoots. Wrangled.
One and a half.
Carey Price’s rebound, a rare one, was pocketed at the side. This isn’t his game. But it’s still his city. I suppose.
Stoppage.
Kostitsyn is talking, saying something. Repeating the same word. Nobody else around. Takes his seat. Still repeating the word. Brunet scolds Kostitsyn all the while saying the forward should have dumped it down instead of trying the behind the back pass. Led to the Boston rush. The non-scoring one.
Boston pressure. Slows. They retain. On the boards. Siren.
Team leaves. They’re annoyed and disappointed. Montreal led on shots 15-14. They lead 30-22, overall.
Second Intermission
Montreal 3, Boston 3
Me, I’m spooked and silent.
Alain asks Joel if the tide has turned for Boston. Joel, sober in thought, says no. Boston’s defensive play has been poor. He supports with footage. He says that if the Canadiens stay relaxed and don’t “stress out” they should come out.
The middle finger is discussed. Alain says that with today’s game the cameras are everywhere, wouldn’t that occur to a player?
Joel says that he knows (about) Ference and he’s got a grape for a brain.
Alain chuckles openly, tilts back. Mario says it’s a manque de classe. He looks ready to leap over the boards.
“No need to explain it. That’s happened. Now we have one period to go to win this hockey game.” That’s Michael Cammalleri when asked by Luc Gelinas about giving up the two-goal lead.
Third Period
Boston 3, Montreal 3
Gomez and Bergeron. Bergeron wins it.
Canadiens chase the puck. Bruins are on the hash. Both teams are a bit tentative. Wisniewski is up against two men. Bergeron is called. Just a bit too much over the line, Bergeron, sporting the A, heads to the box.
Montreal power.
Brunet thinks that Bergeron was within his limits.
Subban is unexpectedly at the side of the net and the puck floats to him. It’s across. And Plekanec misses the open net.
I shake my head.
Cammalleri on the low hash. To the point. Across. Shot. No. Cammalleri again. More Cammalleri.
Finds Wisniewksi. Subban. Low circle. Turns, approaches. Plekanec crosses. Wrister. Thomas doesn’t see it. The net does.
Montreal 4, Boston 3
I can barely feel it. The relief is most palpable. It’s Subban’s first playoff goal.
Boston is in. Subban and Gill remain low. Subban cleans up. Around the net.
Long. Thomas stops it. Boston exits. Slapped in. Thomas is being jeered.
Price is shoved into his net. A red. A white. He’s up. He’s ok. Bergeron took the opportunity to embellish the shove. Not my kind of hockey.
I’ll take Datsyuk, thanks. The rest can go row oars somewhere.
Long Montreal puck. Under seventeen.
Pyatt is on. Still not as speedy as earlier in the season. Playing hurt?
Montreal wins the draw. A man falls at the hash. Puck is out.
It’s sent back in. Hamrlik retrieves.
More mild hockey. Coverage and low-risk plays. Thomas gloves one. Faceoff to his right. Gomez wins it. Moen has it. It’s lost. Gionta reached half-heartedly.
Chara. Long one. Another interception. This is Bruin hockey. Maybe they play otherwise in their other games but against Montreal the long interception is something I’m accustomed to. It was absent in the team’s win on Monday. It’s back tonight.
Fifteen.
Subban. Behind his net. Emerges. Retreats.
He’s creative, yes. Kostitsyn. Off-wing. Backhand rush. Mild. But close. Thomas stops it and the leaving-as-you-go second whack.
Eller line.
Montreal blockades the puck at centre ice.
Win one period.
This one.
Halpern. Gill. Hamrlik. Sopel. Those are the columns. The rest is tensile steel and Wisniewski glass.
Deep faceoff right. Won by Boston.
Price makes his first great save. And makes another. Houde is getting used to Price’s miracles and says miraculeux with a resigned tone. Boychuk had Price fallen forward, men fallen and crammed in his crease and somehow the goalie found the puck. A facemask rises from the blankets and the sheets are like ghosts.
Of the Forum.
Faceoff.
Price is like a giant cat. In an itchy jersey. Waits. Calms. Wait! Pounces.
Boston entry.
Bruin falls. No mistakes, no mistakes.
At the boards. Men have fallen. Whistle. Another whistle. To separate folks.
Halpern. Doctor Recchi. Big Z. Talk. Some glaring. Not much else.
Now one of the dumbest stats in RDS history; Price, period by period … 0.950, first period. 0.910 in the second and in the third? Aucun but accorde. Great. Thanks for that.
Thirteen.
Twelve and a half.
Sopel’s shot raises Houde’s voice. Nearly deflected. Kaberle’s long shot. Price. Handles it. Then quickly, from his crease leaves it for Subban. Puck goes out of play on a Montreal entry moments later.
Cammalleri points at someone. Lucic looks gassed, emotionally drained or flat-lined. He’s an interesting character.
Krejci. Scores.
Ok. How did that stay out.
How.
It slipped off his stick. What luck of the droids.
Faceoff to Price’s right.
I shake my head.
Cammalleri. Splits two. Didn’t know he had that afterburner gear. But his shot is a form of nothing. Right into Thomas. I don’t think he even looked. He’s back at the bench and sipping some water.
More head-shaking. I need a new limb. Something that rotates or gives off an unpleasant, malevolent and low register sound.
Ten minutes.
It’s a war. An ice struggle.
Gomez wins a board battle. To the point.
Short sequence. Boston entry. Price gloves one high. Talks with Cammalleri after the whistle. Listens, rather. Cammalleri talks a lot.
I find that endearing.
Talking. Talking.
What could be more innocent than talking.
Ok. Or more malevolent. Fine, fine.
Cammalleri is not malevolent, though. He’s Our Man From Richmond Hill.
Joel says that Milan Lucic is a young player who thinks too much. In the wrong place often. Adds that the kid seems very discouraged.
Halpern line. Halpern is low. Wisniewski under the end line. Around the boards.
Pyatt leads a two on two. Keeps and shoots. Left side. At Thomas’ biscuit side. High.
Stoppage.
Gomez line. Under nine.
Gomez flies on the right. But the puck had hit a player on the Habs bench along the way and it’s whistled.
Faceoff.
Habs again.
Gionta carries on the left. Pass for Moen is an immediate interception.
Style is for the first period.
Grit and grunt is for the third.
Ryder’s hair is messed up. Tufting from his helmet it makes him look a bit goofy. Stoppage at the side of the Montreal net.
Bruins win. To Chara. Oy. High slapper. Seen and stopped. Price closes arms and folds over it.
Another Bruin faceoff won. Plekanec lost this draw.
Montreal zone. Lucic is playing high and is bumped off.
Montreal rush.
I get distracted by an irate arm and miss the forward’s plunge and the shot thereafter.
Horton’s puck chases against Plekanec is shown in super-slo-mo and it’s impressive television. Plekanec’ speed is not enough this time but Horton’s macho facial arc is highly amusing. Grimace.
Bruin entry. They close to the net.
In the low slot.
They jam at it. Price is splayed and chest up. Loses sight. Kelly blaps it following the Ryder net-around and backhand pass. Through the five.
Chris Kelly. Wearing a full face-cage.
Boston 4, Montreal 4
Just over six minutes.
Darche fails to convert a Desharnais pass. Open look.
Ryder and Kelly work it. Similar chance but this one is stopped.
Under four.
Cammalleri from Wisniewski. Cammalleri falls into the boards.
Boston. Down the middle. Horton. Puck is stopped. It’s four feet in front of Price. It stays there. Stays there.
Price extends the stick. Pulls. Gloves. On his stomach. Whistle.
The play is fierce.
And now Plekanec can be free. And he’s blocked. By Seidenberg.
And it’s called.
This ain’t yer pappy’s NHL.
Montreal power.
Bergeron generates the first shot.
Price jumps to make the save. Price’s arm. Elbow. He’s in some pain. Skates out of his crease. Houde notices.
He’s back in the crease.
Faceoff to his left.
Houde warns us that Boston is very good short-handed.
Just under two. Montreal struggles to enter. Finally they are repulsed.
Eighty seconds.
Subban with a shot off Campbell.
Stays in. They work it. Cammalleri. To Gionta. Fires. Got it all. But hit someone.
One oh six.
Chara is on with Boychuk.
Kostitsyn through the slot. Shoots. Another block. Subban tries to sideway his way through. No.
Montreal entry.
Cammalleri. Through shoulders and crests. Finds a trigger. In traffic.
Penalty ends.
Boston. In. To Chara. He fires. Just wide. And the siren coincides. Brunet chuckles.
Overtime. Great.
Montreal trailed 12-5 on shots. They lead 35-34, overall.
I hate overtime.
Third Intermission
Montreal 4, Boston 4
Joel says the game has been very exciting and points out Mario’s mess of sheets. Laughter.
Do I have to?
Overtime
Boston 4, Montreal 4
They trade rushes. Now a pass from under the end line. For Ryder. Price can’t get across. Ryder puts it away.
Great finish for Bruins.
Final Score
Boston 5
Montreal 4 OT
HDS Stars: Michael Ryder, Scott Gomez, Brent Sopel
RDS Stars: Michael Ryder, Michael Cammalleri, PK Subban
Series is tied 2-2. Game five is on Saturday.
The team is introduced and more than 21,000 fans stand to salute their team, in their first home playoff appearance in a year.
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