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NHL a Bush League?

     First I am going to say that people have to look at this hit with a little bit of objectivity, I know we get emotional when it gets to our beloved habs, I was the first one yesterday to get all emotional and in that state I was not able to give proper judgement on the hit, but after getting home, calming down and looking at the hit about 90 times with a clear head, this is my opinion.

       I’m fed up of hearing this thing of, if the hit would have been anywhere else on the ice, this wouldn’t have happened, no kidding, but it wasn’t, and Chara clearly was out to give a message to Pacioretty.

      With a game where the canadiens were completely dominating the bruins in every aspect of the game and leading them 4-0, I was scared something stupid was going to happen, but never thought it was going to be like this. Nobody is going to tell me the game being out of hand for the bruins and the fact Chara saw it was Pacioretty, is not a factor here.

       Now for the hit itself; when pacioretty chips the puck along the boards, he goes after it but doesn’t seem he is going to get it, cause Boychuck is already there closing in on it, but still Chara decides to go after Pacioretty and make a hit. The first couple of times I saw it in slow motion, I thought  he was just finishing his hit and the outcome was an unfortunate accident, but the more times I saw it from different angles the more I thought it was dirty and intentional, thanks to NHL Network and RDS for all the camera angles on the play. In the replay you clearly see that Chara
sees who the habs player is and extends his arm to Pacioretty’s head and shoves it straight into the partition. Even Chara himself said he knew the partition was there, so he just confirms that he knew exactly what he was doing. There is no excuse for what he did, plus after seeing the way he wanted to attack Pacioretty in the Feb 9^th game when hamrlik came to the rescue, I knew right there and then Chara had unfinished business with Pacioretty, and that’s why I was scared of what he was going to do if the game got out of hand for Boston.  Frustration, revenge and recklessness was the reason for his actions no doubt about it. But that being said I don’t think he wanted to break his neck, but he definitely wanted to pass a message and get him out of the game.

         I am very disappointed in Patrice Bergeron’s comments after the game, I didn’t expect him to condemn teammate but after being victim of vicious hit himself he should have at least reclined to comment to not make himself look like a hypocrite. And as for Claude Julien’s comments I won’t even bother to write about it, because he is a classless imbecile and is not worth mention.

          As I’m writing these words I am hearing confirmation that Pacioretty has severe concussion and fractured vertebrae. That is not good news for Pacioretty. Hope he gets well soon and will not have long term effects from his injuries. Now the situation is in the league’s hands and I hope they take in consideration the history between both players and look at the replay as many times as I did, cause if they do there is no way they don’t come to the same conclusion, which is that Chara marks Pacioretty and decides to shove his head with his hand straight
into the partition. For me a 10-15 game suspension would be the ideal but I don’t think the league will give out a severe suspension.

      After all this, the great game the Habs played in the first 2 periods is an afterthought, but I would like to still point out that the canadiens showed, if they play their style, they can beat the Bruins anytime. They utilized there speed and
bruins couldn’t catch them, they  had 2 goals on the powerplay and 35 blocked shots, plus Carey Price was  determined to get the victory. Those 4 factors are what are going to bring the canadiens success in the playoffs. 

      Like I heard yesterday on twitter and I agreed, If I was Gauthier I would  call up Dawes to play with Gomez and Gionta
cause I don’t want to mess with the chemistry of other 3 lines, for once all the lines where producing and mixing those lines up while not be a good idea. Don’t get me wrong Dawes is no Pacioretty, but he has 33 goals in 53 games in
the AHL and he will be able with Gomez and gionta to produce in the NHL in my opinion.   

      With all that said, I’d like to wish a quick rehabilitation to Pacioretty and hope he will make a full recovery. My prayers are with his family. I just hope those Bruins fans can be objective and see that, that hit has no place in the NHL; neither
does that lack of respect for a fellow league member.

The game everybody has been waiting for!

On this international women’s day, the game everybody has been waiting for has arrived. The Big bad Bruins are in town. And let me assure you, the habs are ready and will play a good game tonight. Before I go any further, I just would like to comment on a little point the Montreal media has been talking about for a month, they keep on
saying that the bruins embarrassed the canadiens on February 9th, but in my opinion that wasn't the case, the canadiens battled the whole game and kept it close the whole 60 minutes. When it comes to the fights, the habs never backed
down and showed they weren't going to be intimidated, yes there were some assaults on habs players but I never saw Montreal players after a fight having their head down. There’s nothing embarrassing in losing a fight or getting
assaulted when your Tom Pyatt or Spacek. And in a game where the goalies where letting every other shot in, a 8-6 loss is also not embarrassing.

      That being said I don't see any need to call up an AHL player like Henry, like a lot of fans and media have been asking for. All they need to do is put in Mara so he can defend Price when the Bruins try to charge him or hit him. Put in White instead of Pyatt and that will be good enough, because I don't see this game getting out of hand like the last one. Both teams need the 2 points and the bruins are trying to finish first in the eastern conference. The habs are right behind trying to get home ice advantage in the first round.

     I really don't see what's so scary about the Bruins; the canadiens beat them 5 out of 6 last season and 3 out of 4 this year. If the habs play their game, utilize their speed, be disciplined, play well defensively and don't fall into the bruins' games, I don't see the Bruins beating the canadiens. Of coarse the habs will need Price to be at his best, but hasn't he proven, that he is one of the best goalies in the league if not, the best. So in Price we trust, after allowing 8 goals in
the last one, I have no doubt that he is ready for this game and will have one of his best games of the season.

     Claude Julien said yesterday after Bruins' practice that the habs players like to start fires and run away. Is he serious? That is just him trying to send the refs a message, but I don't think it's going to work. Yes the canadiens get under the skin of opposing teams, because they're fast and players can't catch up to them, they try to finish their checks and of course they don't want to fight, that’s not their style they don't have the players to do so and that might frustrate other teams, but that’s what they want, because in doing so the other teams lose focus and get stupid penalties, and that gives the habs an opportunity to take advantage of their powerplay, which is one of their most dangerous weapons.

      Look for the crowd to be loud and play a factor in frustrating the Boston players. Scoring the first goal will be very
important for the canadiens, so they can play their style and impose their tempo. But knowing Claude Julien and the Bruins philosophy if the Habs take a 3 or 4 goal lead, that’s when it could get dangerous and the lack of class of the bruins might come to the surface. But as long as the Canadiens don't fall into that game, they will be ok. Because the habs can't afford\, for a key player to get injured, because for sure those are the players the bruins will be targeting. And that’s when Mara, Moen and White come into play, they will have to sacrifice themselves and show they won't accept the bruins target our best players.

      So tonight is the night we have all been waiting for and it is going to be a good one. To quote the last coach to win a Stanley cup in Montreal Jacques Demers “Tonight is going to be a game played like if it was a game 7 of the Stanley cup final" What more can we ask for than that.

     I'll go against the norm and predict a habs victory 4-2 with 3 of the 4 habs goals scored on the powerplay.

     So enjoy this playoff type hockey and the best place to watch it in Montreal is at Chez Serge on St Laurent where you
come to watch the game and stay for the party!

The Habs pass a first important test!

The habs came out of road trip with 6 points. Saturday's game against the
Bolts was an important game for the habs, and they showed they can hang with
the best teams in their conference
I won't go in to all the details of the game, but I will say the canadiens
played a sound game defensively and took advantage of their opportunities.
Gomez finally played at his full potential for the whole game. The canadiens
need all their players to be at full speed for the rest of the year and go into
the playoffs with momentum. Tampa bay is not 3rd in the eastern conference for
nothing, they have a lot of punch on offence with some of the top players in
the league, yes they allowed 30 more goals then the habs this season but they also
scored 29 more goals than the canadiens. But like they say; offence wins you
games but defence wins you championships. And the canadiens have a very good
defence maybe one of the best in the league when they stick to the game plan and
the coach's system is applied.

A lot of people are saying the canadiens will go as far as Price brings
them; well no kidding any team will go as far as their goalie will bring them,
but I think defence is the key. If the canadiens continue to follow the system
and play defensively sound it will make Price's job so much easier, and then he
can bring us far.

The habs Saturday allowed their first goal on the penalty kill since Sopel's
arrival and if I am not mistaken they allowed 1 goal in 16 chances since the
trade. A lot of people criticized Gauthier work in February as to trades, but I
always thought Sopel was a great acquisition, and after all Gauthier is the
general manager for a reason and he knows what he is doing.

I love the way Kostitsyn is playing recently. I was one of the guys to jump
on his case, because I knew he can play so much better that he was before this
point streak. We need all the lines to produce, and recently they all are. And
that is a good sign going into the playoffs, but there is still a lot of hockey
to be played until then, and they have to continue to perform like they are
right now.

Tomorrow is the date I had circled on my calendar on February 9 after the
last time the Habs played the Bruins.

But don't expect to have a lot of fights and intimidation in tomorrow's game
cause the bruins are fighting to finish as high as possible in the eastern
conference standings, but it still will be an intense fought battle. I think it
will be a low scoring game with good chances on both sides

With both the young guns and the veterans producing well, the sky is the
limit for the canadiens.

Read tomorrow's blog for an in-depth preview of the Habs-Bruins game the
game we've all been waiting for has arrived, let's enjoy it.

Hard practice pays off!

        
The media here in Montreal that follow the habs like to talk about the negative points, but I am trying to bring something different in match analysis and talk about the positive points even if sometimes I will have to point out the bad things they do on the ice.
          On Wednesday the Canadiens worked hard at practice and touched on the simple things like power play strategies and the transition game amongst others, and it showed in last night's game. The Panthers had a hard time causing anything dangerous and if they had 10 shots from the slot they were lucky. The habs didn't leave much room for them to be creative and make plays. The defence was strong and Price didn't allow many rebounds. Yes the panthers weren't very good last night, but I have to say that the canadiens were very good and followed the game plan to the letter. I also heard the so called experts say that Vokoun didn't show up last night or that he didn't care anymore cause he allowed 2 goals on 3 shots, but honestly that first goal he had 2 habs players screening him, and Kostitsyn's goal; seriously I don't see many goalies saving that shot.
           A bit about kostitsyn, since he has been paired up with Eller he has shown he can be a very good player. The hard working Eller has giving AK46 new life. That diagonal cross ice pass he made to Gill for Gill's first goal in 100 games was very nice. And what can I say about his goal, when he utilizes his shot like the way he did on his goal I believe he has one of the best shots in the league. On little thing I would like him to have is that desire to score on every shift and have an eye for the net, for example in the 13 minute of the 2nd period he was cutting to the right threw the slot and instead of coming back to the inside and using that amazing wrist shot of his, he settles for a soft backhand shot on net. If he had that hunger for scoring he can easily be a 30-35 goal scorer in the league. Another thing I like about that line is the fact they keep things simple and they execute well. On Eller's goal the 3 linemates rush the net at the same time and Moen does a little backhand pass and all Eller has to do is extend his stick and tip it in. that is the little things they do at practice paying off.
          On the Desharnais goal I honestly believe Pouliot wanted to make that pass, because he looks at David and lobs him the puck, Desharnais with his hockey smarts sticks with the play and gloves' the puck puts it on the ice and as he is getting hit slides it threw Clemenson's five-hole. They had a 2 on 1 in the last 3 minutes of the 1 period and Pouliot took the shot from the top of the circle and even if I think he has to use his shot because he has a good one also, I think he could of waited a bit, get closer and confuse the goalie by looking at Desharnais and then getting a shot off from close up.
          I was one to complain about Coach Martin always playing with his line but I think he has found the right combinations. I like these duos he has going on with Plekanec-Cammalleri, Gionta-Pacioretty, Desharnais-Pouliot and Eller-Kostitsyn. It gives the habs players that can score on every line and players that can backcheck on every line also.
        And now some praise for Hamrlik, in the last 3 minutes of the 2nd period, Bernier is coming into the zone and the play could have been dangerous but Hammer comes back and aborts the play with a very good defensive play. That is why the acquisition of Sopel becomes important because now Hamrlik doesn't have to play over 25 minutes and is more efficient that way. And how about in the 7th minute of the 3rd, that two-line pass to Pacioretty was beautiful, just a shame Pacioretty hit the post on that one, because they would have deserved to get that one. And seconds later AK46 hits the post also, with an amazing wrist shot.
         For once the habs showed discipline last night, only maybe Pouliot's penalty was a stupid one because they were in the offensive zone, but I will forgive for that if he starts practicing his one on one battles at practice. Another note on the special teams, since sopel's arrival the canadiens haven't allowed one goal on the penalty kill in 11 or 12 chances. That’s why Gauthier went out and got him and it is paying off.
        How about a bit of positive on Gomez, cause maybe it will do him some good, even if I know he can still play better I liked one thing I saw him do yesterday, in the 10th minute of the third he is transporting the puck from the back end and instead of doing what he usually does he decides to slow down in the neutral zone and wait for Pacioretty to get there and feed him the puck as Patches is crossing the blue line. I would to see Gomez do that type of play more often, you know mix it up a bit, I think that would help his game a lot. But one thing is for sure he is going to have to shorten his shifts because last night he had  at least 6 if not more  shifts that he stayed on the ice for more than a minute and a half, and that I don't want to see.
        I should mention Price shouldn't I? After all it was a shutout he got and his 7th of the season. (This is good for second in the league tied with Thomas and only one behind Lundqvist) But he makes it look so easy out there that people will start thinking he is not doing much, but that is what talented players do, they make it look easy as for less talented goalies will have to work twice as hard to make the saves he does, thus making them look spectacular. ( Ex: Halak and Thomas) Price not only make the big save look easy he also helps out the system of the team with his stick handling making the quick first pass so the team can counter attack and use their speed. And that’s what I call a complete and elite goalie.
       Just a quick explanation of why Mara plays one game and then sits two. In my opinion Mara will play when the opposing forwards are big and heavy, to help the team win battles in the corners. And when the other team have smaller and quicker forwards the coach will play Picard or Weber.( I would prefer Weber though) I have confidence in Coach Martin if I don’t always agree with him because after all he has over 1000 games in the NHL and is at almost 600 wins. That cannot be just a fluke.
      And now let's get ready for the real test, against the Bolts tomorrow won't be easy but I believe the habs can come out strong, if they score the first goal they will make it easier in themselves, like that they will be able to execute the game plan and utilize their system, but I guarantee Guy Boucher will have his team prepared and the habs will have to be disciplined. That being said I will be happy if the habs come out of Tampa with only one point, because we can't win all of them and 5 out of six points on the road is a good sign for the rest of the season. Because the canadiens will play the majority of games left on the road, so the more points they accumulate now the better.

       For my daily readers sorry but tomorrow I won’t be writing my blog because I am going to Toronto. But I will be back on Monday with a recap of the Tampa game. Thanks for understanding and enjoy the Game.

It's time to start playing some playoff Hockey!

 The habs play the panthers tonight and Tampa on Saturday. So there is no better way to improve their road record and show they can battle with any team in the league by winning both games. That being said, Tampa will be a great test for the habs. Guy Boucher has that team very well prepared and with Lecavalier back on the right path they are a very dangerous team with a lot of offensive weapons.
          I predict that the habs will allow a lot of shots and score important goals on the powerplay. Yesterday morning they worked hard on their power play strategies and their transition game. The media made a big story out of Coach Martin raising his voice at practice, but come on is that really a big story to report, what NHL coach doesn't raise his voice in practice one time or another. They complain when Martin doesn't show emotion, and now they complain when he does! No matter what, the Montreal media will never be happy.
           Now for the idea of putting Plekanec at the point on the powerplay, I think that is a good idea. Plekanec has good vision and is a good passer, with those weapons and Wisniewski's slap shot that might work well, but we're going to have to give Pleky some time to adjust. I know exactly why Coach Martin is trying Plekanec on the point and the reason is because he wants to give Powerplay ice time to Desharnais without taking too much away from Gomez. Because he needs Gomez to get back on track, so he is giving him all the tools to do so. And honestly Gomez is going nowhere and they are not going to buy out his contract, so might as well give him what he needs to get back his game from last spring, because who ever understands a bit about hockey knows he was an important factor in the habs success in last year's playoffs.
           Coach Martin announced that Price will be in nets tonight; look for Price to have a solid night without making outstanding saves. And also look from where shots will come, I will tell right now not a lot of them will come from the slot, and Price won’t allow too many rebounds and when he does the defence in front of him will get rid of them. The canadiens will focus on the counter attack and take advantage of their Powerplay chances, two things that they worked on in practice yesterday and important factors in their success last spring.
          All that said tonight is against the panthers, but Saturday is the real test. In that game you might see Price making outstanding saves because you have guys like Stamkos, St-Louis, Gange, Purcell and Lecavalier. Plus Coach Boucher knows the canadiens well being their farm coach last year and having coached a lot of players on the habs roster right now. But I believe those players will have a good game. Players like Desharnais, Pacioretty and Subban will want to show their old coach how much they have progressed.
           But before looking at Tampa, they will have be disciplined and focus on Florida tonight. Because if they look ahead they might let this one pass them by, and these 2 points tonight are important ones because the race to the playoffs is heating up and teams are already starting to play playoff hockey and the habs need to start preparing themselves and do the same!