Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins
October 29, 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 (3-5-2) visit Boston Bruins (3-6-0)
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Game Eleven (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)
Rail
Mortar
Curtain
I’m on a Toronto streetcar eastbound to Bathurst, destination Kilgour’s. The asylum has shifted. And that’s why. Maybe. No. It’s probably definitely. I peer in darkened pharmacies, forlorn drugstores, looking for the familiar square whisper. It’s only in the bars that there’s hope. An offramp outlet. Should I, could I have prepared better? Oh, yes. The maze pieces are in boxes. One certain set uncertain vs. one uncertain set certain.
Your Bruins uncertain even in royal robes nightfall black and gallow nail gold and my Habs certain but skittered cloud particles across a red horseshoe grand. It’s a band tango, this arm in arm musklet dinero dance, black fiddle notes pungent across the St. Lawrence. Both jig on the Atlantic.
Now a cab from the Bathurst, Dundas intersection. Does he know? I spell it out as a glim (yeah, glim) spot between Spadina and Bathurst on Bloor. Kilgour’s I repeat twice (for a total of three).
They’re linked by three. Periods of twenty minutes and maybe more than three separate eras. The NHL’s best team was the Bruins of 29-30 (by the most basic of standards). And maybe that’s wrong.
I count decades and then wonder what the word for a twenty-year period might be.
1929 1977 4 4 9 7
Lunchbox metal and tricolore sparkle.
I arrive with 0:18 left in the first, Montreal leading 2-0.
Cammalleri at the post, failed pass to the low slot and the Bs clear.
Period ends.
First Intermission
Montreal 2, Boston 0
It’s my first time musing a game here though I’ve often thought I might. But the opportunity is forced. The bar is full of green wood and drywall, non-descript kitchen tiles line the floor and four new flat screens, two above either side of the bar and one on either side of the room go mute for the intermission. What.
They don’t have WIFI (or is that wifi?), their cappuccino machine is broken but I still see the old coin-op pay-phone.
Rask is in tonight. I’m late because I moved. Sleep and boxes.
The highlights are shown and I’m not sure what Mario might be saying.
Brunet is making some emphatic point or other and manages a laugh from Crete.
I’m using the Vancouver Acer. Rather the Boston Acer. WestJet musing.
Back to the Bell.
And in here, the fans are French-speaking, jersey-wearing and maybe a bit less interested than expected. Well, they don’t pay attention during the muted intermission, anyway.
Some woman at a table near me, jerseyed, pulls out a remote, points and the audio is back.
Second Period
Montreal 2, Boston 0
Canadiens start on the power-play.
Plekanec from the point. Height. Glove. How is Rask doing this season? Well, I recall.
The long-time, medium-suffering backup.
To Tim Handlebar Thomas.
Plekanec at the diamond top.
Kelly leads a short incursion. Pass across but parried by Weber, three Habs alongside.
Forty seconds as the Habs enter. But it lasts three seconds.
Cammalleri and Gionta watch the Bruins kill six seconds under the Montreal blue.
No booing as Chara touches the disc to clear and end this power-play.
Rask handles one behind his net.
Long Boston puck is called for icing.
Spacek has blocked four shots so far, Denis tells us.
Nokelainen on the draw deep left. Thornton takes it as a
Left-side entry. Nokelainen. Has a man down the slot. Tries the pass.
Love is typing on a poor keyboard.
Long Montreal puck.
Icing.
Faceoff to Price’s right.
Down the right. Eller is snowed under. McQuaid is looking for what. Revenge? Didn’t like that Eller shoved him into the net. I’m sure Eller is sorry.
Gorges and Subban. Kostitsyn and Eller. Moen flanking. They enter. Seguin accelerates with it left side. The rest of the Bruins follow suit. Marchand behind the end line. Puck is stolen. Bruins struggle to keep it in.
Cole sets up Montreal’s fifteenth shot with a drunken hallway stumble around the boards and shovel ahead to Weber.
Interception in the neutral zone. Darche on the right. Shot. Rebound sees two pronged Montreal sticks. No.
Then another entry is previewed by the knowledgeable crowd; you can feel it. Most Montreal fans know more about what’s happening than I do. At least in the moment. Most may be a strong word but just talk to a few true believers.
The commercials are automatically muted for me. I suppose it’s that woman with the remote.
Patinage Canada advertises an event. What. Olympics? Figure skating. Bah. I know it’s hard work and very athletic. So’s exercising daily.
Thirteen and a half.
Chara on the left point. Across. Shot is into sticks and legs.
Canadiens exit. Desharnais covered and looking for Cammalleri outside the blue. Puck leaves Boston ice after a brief go round.
Lines change.
Price handles a puck behind his net. Waits. Gives it away. Centred. Both Price and a defender prevent a shot.
Boston ice. Moen against Thornton.
Moen is getting a bit old for this.
Started when Eller was surrounded by three punching Bruins. There’s a reason yellow has stayed on this jersey.
Stays at fives.
Price makes a good save, rolling into a worm-stomach on a Kelly entry, Spacek chasing.
Many in this group clap.
It’s a quiet, appreciative clapping.
Not a lot of verbal rowdiness. None, in fact.
Eleven and a half.
Gionta. Clear and free. No, an arm or a stick. Plekanec trailing a bit slowly but open. And it’s called.
Third power-play says Pierre.
Legit call.
The formatting on the Acer changes without my approval.
Cole with a good chance at the muzzle.
Five on three.
Now Ference is called. Punched Subban in the face with a quiet “fuck off”, besides.
Oh, Finger.
Bergeron up top. Chara and Boychuk low.
Bergeron splits two
Tae taken down but forces Price to make the save.
One minute.
Subban starts it off. Up for Plekanec on the right.
Subban fires from the hash setup.
Big barn wide.
Now he turns it over ugly at mid-ice
And it’s in.
Desharnais. Phone booth. Cammalleri. From Desharnais. Pass. Into a Bruin. But it sleek ekes out for Desharnais. It’s certain.
One last segment.
Montreal 3, Boston 0
Now a fourth. Eller at the crease lip. I pump my fist. And the puck stays out.
Seven.
Couldn’t ladle the beans.
They exchange possessions. Boston leaves a man open on the first. Covers the outlet on the second. Canadiens keep Boston sealed.
Nobody is making a difference in white.
The booing is consistent. Chara carries around the net. Finds Corvo on the right point.
Montreal exit. And are forced to reset again.
Eller. Harangued by Krejci. Taken. Passed. Fired. Lucic.
Offwing shot. Over Price’s left shoulder. Another high goal from that spot.
I’m sure it’s a coincidence
Montreal 3, Boston 1
Three and nine.
Cole line. Long Boston puck is called for icing.
Desharnais deep right. Loses the draw and Boston is out.
Jam-up on the left hash.
Boston is tightening. Like cold netting in rink vapour.
Two minutes.
Cole is open. Plekanec sees it. Slow. But caught. And Rask slides thirty feet out. Where is it. The black spot is … under Rask. And to the right for a defender.
Around the ice. Lucic. Called.
Julien shakes his head. Tries to maintain his composure and then finally, shaking his head muttering and blinking articulates his misery.
We smile or chuckle. He was ours and well-loved. For a goodly time.
He’s a Stanley Cup champion.
Lucic is called for slashing.
First segment. One good pass, one good keep-in on the blue.
Second segment is a board blast. Why shoot like that? Why shoot at all?
Some animosity to close out the period, Montreal controlling deep.
Habs led on shots 12-8 and 24-16, overall.
Second Intermission
Montreal 3, Boston 1
You’d think the team hadn’t lost yet. The poise and delivery are both there.
Alain and Mario sit alone at the big desk. Alain seems much happier. Really.
Mario gives us his power-rankings. He puts Washington ahead of Pittsburgh. And LA fourth. Fair enough.
We see some Boudreau highlights and then a graphic showing how many miles certain league call-ups need to travel to go from the minor league affiliate and the parent club.
Third Period
Montreal 3, Boston 1
We’re told that Spacek has blocked six shots tonight.
About fifty seconds in the Lucic penalty.
Boston has the first incursion.
Around the net and then a tumble-down, sit-down.
Bruins keep the Habs out. Penalty ends.
Campbell falls over Eller’s stick and the official has to make the call.
Just over a minute elapsed.
Marchand, Peverley and Bergeron.
Seidenberg and Corvo on the blue.
Gionta intercepts and holds briefly.
Gill and Gorges low. On the hash.
Good coverage.
But it stays in. Seidenberg falls on the blue.
Gionta shakes his head.
Tripping.
Legit. Braked and a leg folded over a leg. Hockey style.
Ladouceur is tall.
Montreal time-out.
Ladouceur listens to Gorges, Gill and Plekanec discuss the strategy. Interjects near the end. Nods some more.
Boston works the domino. And here is the door.
Post? Or Price? Houde doesn’t know either.
One clear.
Same three.
Chara and Seidenberg low.
Gorges and 18 tangle in the low slot.
Finally it’s stalled in the corner. Some shoving. Lucic is mad at gill. Leaves with a snarl. Nobody gets close to the big lion.
Horton is called. Your number eighteen. Squirts some green juice into the box bottom. Let’s assume it’s Gatorade.
Four on four.
Seguin and Corvo with Ference and Bergeron. You know what I mean.
Under sixteen.
Kostitsyn with a triangle-point opening, left-side. Takes the time to wind up fully. And it’s way wide. Fenway wide.
Plekanec retrieves. Weber and he share the puck.
Over the blue.
Into the right corner.
Montreal advantage for about a minute.
Fifteen in the period.
Subban on.
Cole floating across the slot. Hash to Subban, has the lane. And the stick breaks.
Cammalleri on the left point.
Fourteen and a half.
Teams are at even strength now.
Fourteen.
Deep left. Pacioretty and Kostitsyn can’t come up with the puck against two.
Horton on the Montreal hash. Watches it leave.
Plekanec leading on the forecheck.
Thirteen and a half.
Moen gets around two guys and get to the puck first. Shouldn’t have happened, really.
Boston is uncommitted.
Mid-ice.
Eller now down the left.
Thirteen.
Subban chased back by one Bruin. No dangerous passes.
There’s still too much time.
Canadiens must press and the captain starts them in this direction. He’s flying for the first time this season. Chin tucked in, he affects poise and certainty.
Eleven and forty.
Pace is synergistic. Adams foes.
Pace increases.
The teams are exerting their wills at the same time.
It’s an agreement as much as it is animosity.
Now Cole engenders faith. And applause in this downtown Toronto bar. One pass to the right corner. Return pass and he fans on it. Hard to tell.
Rask gets across on a certain goal.
The silence of shock.
Eller’s shot from the right circle was a perfect set-up. Rask was able to anticipate, we see on the replay.
With Subban’s wild shots, maybe that’s the best gamble.
Price gloves an entry closed.
Nine and a half.
Seguin cycles the thighs and lofts a flag high, his backhand follow-through signaling his entry through two Habs. But the play is stopped almost immediately and they’ll retry outside the Montreal blue.
Marc Denis is asked if after the two Hab victories, the team has rediscovered its confidence. Viewer question. He spends nine sentences and finishes with “oui”.
Gionta chases a puck, passes one bruin, a second and then steers Chara to the boards with his all.
Sudden two on one on the reset.
Gionta and Plekanec. One give. And the second back to Gionta is intercepted. A few head shakes around me and one moan
Price sees a mild deflection slip by him to his left but outside the post.
About a foot.
Turnover inside the Boston blue. Gorges fires. Another wide shot
Seven and a half.
Peverley with some quickness on he right side and there’s an opening.
And that tantalizing space above Price’s left glove. Wrister. Over both the glove and the crossbar
Ole ole chant begins.
Bergeron covered but leaning finds the room for a backhand. Snow sprays and Price leans back on his knees. Doesn’t release it.
Quick shot of baseball renegade, Youppi.
Another city enjoying another city’s misery and justifying it to themselves
Know who your allies are.
Six.
Darche. Covering on the left. Follows Krejci.
Peverley turns and unloads on a small circle inside the Montreal blue.
Plekanec chasing now. One bump on Boychuk.
Shots on goal are in favour of Montreal 26-23
Cole down the right. His best speed. Gets him inch by inch past the shoulder but the shot can’t be had and the support wasn’t there.
Four and a half.
Darche goes long and whams his man in to the end boards. Nokelainen is at the slot. Darche above. They contain. Paella gets free. Windup and shot. Save and then Diaz winds up and misses. Canadiens keep it on the perimeter and then it’s out.
And it stays in question marks and dim circles as the skates and chaw become one sound, the crowd’s worry a grim murmur that waits for one more exclamation point.
Faceoff outside the Montreal blue.
Centre ice faceoff follows brief action.
Three minutes. A long Bruin puck is called for icing.
Jolly mood in the Bell Centre.
Some nasty outfits in the rink. For Halloween.
Horton hooks a pass to Boychuk and the quick one-timer is gloved high by price.
Desharnais takes the draw against Peverley.
Diaz around the net.
Cole in the neutral zone.
Cole turns it over
Gill is tripped. Kelly. Then Kelly stabs someone else with a stick.
Two minutes.
Gill at the cage. Paille at the net.
Bruin turnover. They still give them away.
Rask leaves the net.
Under two.
Blunden.
To Darche. Shot. Wide.
Lines change.
Subban sends a puck past three lines. Icing.
Martin says something earnest but not loudly enough. He adjusts his belt all the while.
Boston timeout. Nokelainen. Takes the draw to price’s right. Darche is on the ice. Gorges. Something wrong with Darche’s skate. Tosses his skate protector to the trainer and stays on the ice.
Puck is bouncing in the low slot. Shot wide.
Around the front. Subban bumping hard. Seguin shoots it in. And is tripped after the play by Subban.
Montreal 3, Boston 2
Fifty-four seconds.
Julien adjusts his lapels. He seems mollified at last.
Thomas gets another stick.
And Julien gets another chance to talk to his troops.
What. Wait. Thomas is going in for the last minute.
You can do that when you have two number one goalies.
And Thomas is pulled anyway.
Gionta out. Twelve feet. Shot. Just wide.
Plekanec is out now.
Waits. Swerves left. A few more strides.
Into the net.
No smiling from the Kladno man.
Montreal 4, Boston 2
Campbell, Thornton and Horton on the ice, Houde cautions.
No animosity occurs.
Siren train horn goes.
Final Score
Montreal Canadiens 4
Boston Bruins 2
They congratulate their goalie.
HDS Stars: Lars Eller, Tomas Plekanec, Brian Gionta
RDS Stars: Carey Price, Lars Eller, Tomas Plekanec
I missed the first, so my stars are off kilter.
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