Montreal Canadiens vs. Colorado Avalanche
October 15, 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 (1-2-0) host Colorado Avalanche (3-1-0)
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Game Four (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)
Hey, where’s Joel Bouchard?
Marc Denis is down at ice level and he says that in the absence of Michael Cammalleri, the team needs to produce a bit more on the attack. Zero goals against Toronto. One against Calgary. Five against Atlanta, in between. Winnipeg, whatever.
Alain, Mario and Benoit at the big desk. Purple ties in honour of the battle against cancer. The Canadiens coaching staff also sports the purple ties tonight.
Brunet nods with overt intensity as Tremblay discusses the Avalanche.
Joel Bouchard has taken his insights to the QMJHL where he is a rookie GM with the Armada. At least the new network didn’t get him. How sad and what a loss for RDS. And how did Benoit retain any kind of hockey knowledge position with RDS? How. I wonder.
Tonight should be a normal introduction. No nonsense.
One by one. Some tap the pads of the kids flanking the entry-way.
Lars Eller will be starting with the top six tonight. Centring a line with Erik Cole.
Short siren. They line up on the blue lines. Officials at the red. National songs.
Charles Prevost-Linton.
We are shown an organist, two rows of keys and a loud, white, fat jacket with musical notes on it. She’s in a pleasant mood.
She’s wearing a Stanley Cup ring. I’m sure it is. I’m sure of it. Who is she? Short, dark hair. Three looks at her now.
Occupy Toronto was today. If they’re going to play anthems, I’m going to discuss politics.
Charles is a bit slower, a bit more dramatic in his delivery tonight.
Michel thinks that Engqvist is not an NHL-calibre player. He said so after last game. But he’s a defensive centre. Ah, well.
Glass of water. The new, sticky spacebar keyboard.
And Semyon Varlamov and Carey Price are the goalies tonight.
Stephane Auger and Eric Furlatt are the refs. Pierre Champoux and Brad Kovachik, the linesmen.
Plekanec line starts for Montreal.
First Period
Eller and Cole on the wings (Plekanec centres, my mistake).
Montreal controls.
Gorges and Diaz underneath.
Eller sees a puck go beyond his reach. Undeterred he takes the full signet backward.
Duchene on the left. Sends a man in. Alone. To the mouth. Price. Pad across.
I nod. As if I’m standing right beside him at the post.
Ninety seconds elapsed.
Line two. Kostitsyn, Desharnais. Emelin and Gill. Pacioretty. Gill retrieves behind his net.
Around the Colorado net it goes. Stastny sends it down the right side.
Five Habs are deep. Coverage prevents a pass but the Avs keep it in for a few seconds more.
Gionta. Right side. Fires. Varlamov with the kick pad. Houde says it was a bit difficult.
Subban a rush. They close to the net on the whistle.
Faceoff to Varly’s left.
Darche. Engqvist and Palushaj on the right wing. Secures it. To the blue. Sent along the boards. Diaz misses the exiting puck. It’s called for icing.
Faceoff to Varlamov’s left.
First line.
Quick shot off the draw. A wrister after some jostling and non-puck movement in the circle. Varlamov saw it and stopped it.
Another draw.
Plekanec loses the puck deep left. It’s out.
Desharnais line.
They’re chasing.
Avs nearly manage a three—ion-two. Pacioretty is back to make it three. No pass results.
Desharnais is out with it. And the Avs follow with good back-checking of their own.
Montreal ice.
Chuck Kobasew. Has it from forty. Left side. Shoots. And somehow it trickles in.
Emelin’s failed backhander results in a pass, a second and that trickler.
Colorado 1, Montreal 0
Avs have legs.
They control. Thirty-two messes up a coverage. And takes his time getting back to the bench. Diaz and Gorges hop on. Pace improves.
Both teams.
Diaz is working against McLeod on the boards. His pass is lost to Palushaj. Three leave smoke in the cave. But they enter offside.
Travis Moen? What. What. He was playing like a dim call-up from Hamilton. Yes, I forgot his number there.
How did that puck get by Price?
Pierre is up top with a young fellow. He’s wearing the headset. Cedrick.
Plekanec takes the draw outside the blue. Cedrick’s cancer is in remission.
Fourteen.
Duchene. Hejduk. The kid calls it. He stalls at Subban’s pass. His favourite player happens to be Subban, Pierre discovers.
Gorges. Wins a puck battle.
Kostitsyn across the blue. Shot wide. Just wide. They circle. O’Byrne is behind the net. Jams his man. Kostitsyn has it again on the blue.
Habs keep it in. Two under the end line.
Call is missed. Crowd boos.
Hard to tell, really. Desharnais fell over a stick, perhaps.
Gomez. Right side. Right hash. Brakes. Whacks his man.
Trios change and Houde steps in for young Cedrick Edwards.
Price retrieves one. His backhander is intercepted, only two visitors. Whistle before the put-back can cost the team.
Offside entry.
Engqvist line.
One backhand. Long one. Rebound boinks out off a skate. He turns and fires a lax wrister into Varlamov.
Draw. Montreal wins it. Immediate whistle. Some faceoff flaw.
Eller alone. Missed the open net. Low slot. Whistle follows.
Just under eleven.
Montreal coverage is better than last game and the respect for Colorado’s offensive abilities is apparent. Avs scored seven in their last match. Against Ottawa.
Long shot by Subban from mid-ice. Stopped by Varlamov. Montreal leads on shots 8-3.
We resume.
Interception by Diaz.
Kostitsyn. Across. Missed.
To the net. One shot. Direct. Rebound. Kept and wristed upward. Very nicely. By your buddy Max.
Montreal 1, Colorado 1
Gomez line.
Montreal ice.
David Jones on the right side. O’Byrne rushes up to keep a puck in play. He gets it at the blue and launches a wrister. Into legs.
Ok, hasn’t the kid done enough?
Eight minutes.
Gill and Subban low. Engqvist, Darche and a hither tither puck.
Plekanec line.
Seven minutes left.
Pacioretty Right side. Through two. How? Backhander. Gives Varlamov more trouble than expected. Good weight on the shot, I imagine.
Colorado enters offside on the other end.
Desharnais was on the ice for Pacioretty’s goal. With Kostitsyn. New line.
A hockey game is no place for children.
Ok, ok.
Montreal Alouette quarterback (still) Anthony Calvillo has a message for the fans. In English. “Trust what the doctors tell you.” And so on.
Under six.
Moen alone. Low slot. Shot is off. It was all rather sudden.
A failed hit by Emelin on Kobasew is shown.
Hits are only worth it if they cause a turnover.
Blue Bomber body-checks that turned into touchdowns come to mind. Hit and wrap. Wrap. Forward progress is more important than making Sportscentre.
Five.
Gill. Peeks out from behind the net and wraps a pass to the right.
Deep right. Kostitsyn can’t keep it in.
Coverage on the left flank. Shot is taken. Price holds it against his chest, high.
Faceoff to his right.
I accept an offer of macaroni and French fries.
Jingos be damned.
Draw is lost. To the blue. Price collapses low. Holds on.
Another faceoff.
Engqvist loses it to the second man into the circle.
Colorado controls on the perimeter. Pacioretty is low. Gorges beside him. Blocked shot. Bump and the puck is pushed up. And out.
Colorado is back in.
Price gets low for a shot Houde says surprised the BC native. His mask is streaked pink down the middle. Another nod to the fight against cancer. Price is not the sort to worry about using new equipment; he can through several masks and sets of pads in a season.
Good for the u-bay types. U-bay, ebay, whatever.
Balsillie is not fit to own. Nor lead.
Neither is your buddy Peladeau.
Eller, magic and moxie. Six feet away, draws the puck to and fro. Quick, quick and the shot. Up it goes. And a whistle as it goes out of play.
Desharnais can’t be moved off the puck. Nor Pacioretty an instant later. Both used their backs to ward off the defender. Desharnais’ decision-making reminds you of who … yes, Koivu. Aware and calm. Finds the lanes. If the scoring play can’t be had, then possession is the priority. Saku. Not Mikko.
To the net. Penalty. Some arms. Scrum. O’Byrne goes for roughing. Didn’t look like him. His face. Twisted Darche’s head back.
Puck bounces to the net. Pacioretty misses the gap.
To the blue. Long shot. Varlamov looks nervous, moving more than he needs to. And often out of position.
Siren.
Canadiens led on shots 19-9. The team is gaining its composure.
I like these new lines.
Trade Cammalleri for Malkin.
Just kidding.
First Intermission
Colorado 1, Montreal 1
Benoit loves fighting. He should just shut up.
And the gestures that Asham made are meaningless. What’s meaningful is that he is allowed to knock out an opponent on international television. Who gives a hoot about his gestures? All out of whack. I happen to like Asham.
When the inmates run the asylum the PA system blares vicious blarney.
Brunet says that the fight was necessary to protect Letang. How about getting some rules in place to protect Letang. Like all the other sports leagues. Neanderthal Hockey League.
Get Brunet off the air.
My kids are watching this stuff. And beating up your kids on Saturday afternoon because of this. It’s math. Human math.
You won’t lose any fans if you eliminate fighting. You’ll gain some, though. And you’ll improve the amateur game. We’re still talking about this stuff in the 21st century.
How long can we ignore grampa?
Son, you’re right, grampa doesn’t know what he’s talking about. But, shhh, we can’t tell him that two plus two is four just yet.
Cowards love fighting. Stand up for a principle sometime.
How come grampa doesn’t like dark people, how come grampa doesn’t believe in science, how come grampa thinks my sister should stay at home and cook, how come grampa loves Don Cherry and wants me to crosscheck my opponents?
I dunno kid, but you’re going to have to be the one to tell him … your parents are too scared to.
Second Period
Montreal 1, Colorado 1
The Colorado-Detroit rivalry was one of the greatest and fiercest in NHL history. The team’s decline is beyond my scope but I’d like to see it return. On the other hand, are we going to see Detroit move to the Eastern conference for the first time?
Montreal power continues.
Plekanec, Desharnais and Pacioretty. Wave of the deserving. Perfect setup for Pacioretty at mouth.
And Varlamov resumes being Varlamov. What a save. Dollhouse legs and lightning.
ON the other end, an Av is upended and bashes into the post next to Price. Av penalty.
Five on three.
Plekanec on the point. Subban across. I don’t like it. Who cares what I like. Plekanec advances. Eyes. Fires. Ting. And in.
Montreal 2, Colorado 1
Only Montreal’s second power-play goal this season.
Five on four. Two minutes gone.
Weber and Subban low.
Gionta, Gomez and Kostitsyn.
Six seconds. Gionta keeps it in on the left point. Kobasew finally gets it out.
Gionta. Has Gomez in the slot. Pass slips through untouched.
Penalty elapses with Price making a save and Subban circling in his zone.
Pacioretty down the left. He’s been dangerous all night, all season. I’m impressed. And he’s backchecking all the while. His great play is going to shut me up. Or at least reduce me to grumbles. And no nonsense, no hubris, no big show, no stinky feathers.
Fifteen and a half.
Puck goes out of play in the neutral zone.
Weber is called for delay of game.
Colorado power.
Faceoff to Price’s right. Puck scoots out at the left point. Avs retrieve.
Erik Johnson’s long shot from the right side is turned away.
Duchene loses the puck on the left. Plekanec takes it from him. Carries it to the neutral zone. Loses it. Turns and slashes at Duchene. No call. May have hit only his stick.
Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog is shown. New guy. From Sweden.
Weber returns as a pass from under the end line leads to a less than convincing shot from the muzzle.
Under thirteen.
Avs need to step it up. But Montreal matches.
Cole enters offside on the left. Look of disdain on his stubbled face.
Faceoff outside the blue. I describe a racist hate glare I got today at some redneck breakfast place. Still happens. Even in this town. Guy wouldn’t return my acknowledging stare. I would have asked him if there was a problem. But he didn’t give me the chance. Backed down from my skinny self. He would have, could have snapped me in half. Maybe fifty. Worker type. Stubbly.
I normally ignore it. But today, I thought, why pretend not to see what’s there. Why.
Another young person in the booth. One of the flag kids. Pierre asks him how many times a week he plays. Four. He’s a goalie.
I normally don’t bring it up but I’m getting older and I don’t see the need to pretend. It happens. You may as well know. He was bristling. I passed by the place once and he saw me. When I decided to go in on the second pass, he was none too pleased.
Ah well. Most folks aren’t like that. Or at least they keep it inside. Yeah, just keep it to yourself, moke.
Hatred is easy. Isn’t it.
I wonder what he’d say if I informed him that I’m more Canadian than he is. <insert something, say an emoticon … or would you prefer a fist?>
Eight and a half.
Pacioretty penalty.
Left side entry.
David Jones. Over the shoulder. Another high shot.
Colorado 2, Montreal 2
Pacioretty is on. Working to even things out.
Subban has it in his zone. Carries. Tries a slick move. Loses the puck. Paul Stastny. Alone. Right, left, through the pads.
Don’t dance tonight.
Martin calls a time-out.
Colorado 3, Montreal 2
Hands on hips, Martin has completed his lecture. He never raises his voice on a game night. Tonight is the same. But he rarely calls a timeout in this fashion. Something new from the old coach.
Older coach, then.
Six and a half.
Hand pass. Whistle.
Martin takes some notes.
Puck goes into the Colorado zone. Weber moves well past the hash. Insect-legs around and manages to keep the puck deep. Now he skates back into position.
Colorado is able to match up and move the puck out.
Subban is going to hear about it. He’s already heavily criticized on message boards and the like. Comment threads. He’ll continue to hear it as long as he gives the puck away like that.
There’s a risk-reward ratio that, with some players (Favre, Marino, Dunigan) is worth it. With others (Threadgill, Vavra, young Testaverde), it isn’t. With turnovers, none are acceptable from a coaching standpoint. But some are worse than others.
Moen is sent in. Line change is a bit off. Moen jams it in. long reach left, short side. How did that go in? Good burst.
Montreal 3, Colorado 3
Three and a half.
I think, similar to women who get creeped on (creeped at? … what’s a new verb, anyway) by guys, comments and such, I don’t talk about it because I feel embarrassed, because it happens so often and because some folks will try and reframe my experience.
But at this point, who, really, does it benefit for me to keep quiet about it?
It could also be my hair. But I don’t think trogs know how to separate these factors.
Long hair.
Some action behind the net. The unfriendly kind. Booing. One of each goes to the box.
More booing.
We’re shown some of the Colorado cheese up in one of the boxes. The GM. He looks like Pierre-Karl Peladeau.
Four on four.
Gomez. Gionta.
Colorado ice.
They work and share the puck. And I feel a brief New Jersey feeling.
And then it’s gone and so is the puck.
Action gets sloppy. Too much separation. Not enough coverage. Subban again. Dives when he should have stayed.
Price is beaten down the middle as a result. David Jones. Took the pass, watched Subban slide out of view. Potted it between the goalie pads.
Colorado 4, Montreal 3
Colorado is getting their goals. And Toronto says, yes. They had to check a replay. And it’s checked at the head office in Toronto. It doesn’t matter where they check it, the league is full of Ontario alums at all levels. They don’t know, don’t care or don’t realise it.
And the French guys don’t want to say anything. Nobody likes being called a separatist.
And again, Johnny the Third had better start speaking up. We’re all waiting.
Thirty seconds left in the period.
Gomez, Gionta. Diaz and Gorges low. Gionta gets a lead pass, one man chasing; close. Gionta gets half a step. To the circle. Middle. Shot. Varlamov has the angle. Snow shushes up and the puck stays in the folds of his jersey.
Period ends with Diaz blasting a puck around the end boards.
Montreal is missing a lot of experience at the blue line. Spacek won’t be back for weeks. Markov is skiing in the Alps.
Ok, he’s in Florida doing rehab.
And the backup dude we got as insurance (depth) for the defensive MIAs, Chris Campoli, he went down early and won’t be back til December.
The Far Side; Campoli’s down!
Colorado led on shots 14-6.
Sorry about my little racialized interlude. But maybe it’s better for me to release that stuff. I have no idea what impact that internalized stuff can do. Well, I have some idea. But it’s all theoretical.
Second Intermission
Colorado 4, Montreal 3
Sheldon Souray is back in the NHL. Three points in his last four games. And a skirmish, as we see. Good to see him back. He’s too polite to say anything bad about Edmonton. But he’s too honest to lie. I think the Oilers were unfair with him somehow, last season. Souray is with Dallas now. And out of the minors where Edmonton was stashing him.
He’s 36.
Third Period
Colorado 4, Montreal 3
Montreal power almost immediately. Poor PK.
They work it around. Weber across from Subban.
One chance. Kept in.
Desharnais is at the phone booth. He’s a little small for a phone booth.
Now Plekanec is at the phone booth. Desharnais is at the hydrant now. He’s one of the smartest Canadiens from that spot that I’ve ever seen.
He has quietly earned most, if not all, of Martin’s confidence. He can be seen in any situation. Penalty-kill, first wave power-play. And the first line. He deserves it. And not because of the name on his jersey.
David Desharnais is one of Montreal’s top three offensive players. Composed, skilled, unflappable, strong for his size and a great passer. Might even be a good scorer but I haven’t seen enough of him to be able to tell.
Seventeen.
Penalty’s expired.
I wonder what my old English teacher, Mr. McKay would think of this (abnormal) little project of mine.
The pressure mounts. Kostitsyn moves in dress pants and magician’s mini-moves. Finds a man after eluding a defender at the blue.
It’s end to end. The velvet runs smooth. Price across. Pad low, no doors.
Habs are back to help. Moen. Moved out.
Plekanec. Right side. Pushing, one stick, one hand. The force. Brakes. Cole has it following. Shot. Varlamov. Barely. How.
Price is not at his best. Sense of urgency is a smidge off. Doesn’t do the extra.
Subban. Around his net. Keeping, keeping, keeping. Followed. Releases the pass. Reminds of Serge Savard when he retains, retains but doesn’t lose it.
Desharnais finds Kostitsyn after stealing yet another puck. Slot. No.
Gomez line.
Moen with them.
Gomez. Behind the Colorado net. Timing is off. Gionta left the spot.
Winnik. Hejda. Left side deep. Kept to the outside. They show some verve. But finally the puck is out.
Under ten.
Hejduk. Playing as if he’s down a goal. Over the blue. Brakes and turns. And Subban is called. Some mild booing is heard.
He’s having one tough game.
Artificial beer is advertised. The R one. No, not Rainier. That was pretty bad beer, too. Does Rayovac still exist, I wonder.
Marc Denis is down at ice level. Does he spend all game down there?
Colorado power.
First clear. Gill.
Hejduk. Stastny. Lindstrom.
Price is very sharp on this sequence. Low, pads wipering the ice.
Another clear.
Vipering the ice?
Another clear.
Thirty-five.
Quincy. Looking, slowing. Backhands it down.
Now a long useless shot. Deflection attempt. Puck goes up and nearly out.
Long shot. Puck disappears. Finally falls to the ice. Price froze while looking. I hate it when he freezes. But in this case, it was necessary. The only thing moving was his head. To and fro.
Goalie is the toughest job on the ice.
I decide to just watch Gionta. One swipe. Now to the net. Off his leg. To his stick. Backhand. Here it is.
In.
Through the legs.
Montreal 4, Colorado 4
More pressure. Desharnais. Pacioretty. Kostitsyn.
Pacioretty has it. Waits. Smart. Shot-pass. For Desharnais. And it’s in.
Keep them on the same line.
Montreal 5, the other team 4
Immediate goal. I forgot the other team’s name.
Colorado.
Six thirty-eight left. Desharnais takes a sip of water. He doesn’t pass the eye test.
You can have Alexandre Daigle. You can have Stephen Weiss.
And you can keep big, luggy and stupid.
Ole and ole and ole. I forgot.
Pierre likes Marc Denis. We see footage of a mild Denis stoppage for a faceoff and Pierre teases quelle arret de Marc Denis. It makes me happy that Houde is happy. It’s been a long time since Yvon Pedneault left. No more wings and grub laughter. But something new will develop here.
Montreal penalty.
Johnson keeps in a snakebitten puck. Around. From the circles. Tink. And in. The one-timer. Kyle Quincey. Briefly reminds me of Stephane Richer.
Four minutes. Gorges low with Diaz.
Diaz is quick and makes prompt decisions.
Colorado 5, Montreal 5
Plekanec line hops on. Eller and Cole still with him.
Under three.
Desharnais.
Gill and Wilson collide like small sugar mountains, one falls over the other at the hash.
Quincey fires one long. Too long. Icing is called.
Desharnais leaves the ice. Martin, arms folded, grimaces like a dwarf who drank too much froth.
Under two. Deep Colorado ice.
Gionta with a forty-five footer near the circle tops. Off the back boards.
Too many missed shots.
Colorado enters offside.
Cole. Eller beside him. They fly over the line but the puck sails too far and Colorado is off the other way.
Their six-second possession ends with a long Johnson shot gloved by Price.
Fifty-nine seconds.
Subban and Gill low. In inform my living room affiliate that it’s going to go into overtime.
Gill to Pacioretty at the blue. It’s snarled there. A stumble and the puck is back into Montreal ice. Gill’s pass to blame.
But it’s out on the other side and the siren sounds as I unexpectedly think of Francis Bouillon. Former Hab defender.
Montreal led on shots 15-7. They lead 41-30, overall.
Well, the scorers matched.
Defence, defence, defence.
Overtime
Montreal 5, Colorado 5
Five minutes. Four-on-four. Sudden death. Followed by a shootout if necessary.
Cole and Plekanec first.
Cole tries to body through on the left. Loses the puck.
Emelin. To Cole. Emelin carries and then passes rearward. Plekanec. Carries across. Offwing shot. Varlamov falls on it. Plekanec is tangled up with him, standing. No animosity results.
We resume.
Subban low. Gill, too.
Desharnais and Pacioretty. They were teammates in Hamilton and have great chemistry. And respect for one another. Pacioretty once described Desharnais as the best player in the AHL. That comment does not seem so outlandish today.
Faceoff to Varlamov’s right after a puck goes up out of play.
Hejda leaves a puck for Johnson. He hustles. Sent in. Just as quickly out.
Eller and Kostitsyn.
Refs ignore an obvious trip. More Neanderthal Hockey League. The more important the situation, the less competent we shall be.
One forty-eight.
Plekanec and Cole. I really like the pairings.
Subban boomer. Wide.
Wild.
Walton.
Lines change. Pairs change, really.
Wilson tries a long pass for O’Reilly. Misses everything. Price plays it up.
A Desharnais pass fails. He clips it and sends it out of danger with a complete pass this time.
Stastny. Ack. Price sees it go by.
Seven seconds. They trundle in the corner. Sudden slot pass. Right on the stick. Of a Montreal defender.
Cole is free and open deep. Siren.
Shootout
Colorado 5, Montreal 5
Semyon Varlamov’s photo has a DC Comics Hall of Justice feel to it. Who knew?
I expected crag.
Zamboni paints a new strip. Down the centre.
Plekanec is up first.
Hesitates. Shot. Post. Crossbar. One then the other.
Hejduk. Blocker side. Scores.
Colorado 1
Pacioretty. Tries the deke. Loses control. Replay shows it was on purpose. But he missed.
Duchene. Scores.
Where’s the bang-bang?
Colorado wins.
Marc Denis sounds super smooth even though he is standing at the player exit spot.
Final Score
Colorado 6
Montreal 5 (SO)
HDS Stars: David Jones, David Desharnais, Max Pacioretty
RDS Stars: Milan Hejduk, Max Pacioretty, Brian Gionta
Related posts:
Subscribe to the Podcast
0 comments
Kick things off by filling out the form below.
You must log in to post a comment.