Price shines in 18-minute effort over Calgary

Teammates congratulate Price on his outstanding 18-minute win. Photo: Dario Ayala/The Gazette

Montreal's Carey Price once again showed why he's one of the great young goaltenders in the N.H.L. 

Coming into the game at the 3-minute mark of the third period after starter Alex Auld had surrendered his 4th goal--which allowed the Flames to complete their comeback in erasing a 4-goal deficit--Price was spectacular in his 18:08 of ice time, turning away all four shots he faced.  

Sitting in his dressing room stall after the Habs' 5-4 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames, Price reflected on the satisfaction that came with the win.

"A night like this is a goaltender's dream", said Price. "A light skate before the game, take a few practice shots, then relax for a couple of periods while checking out some of the fine product in the seats around me, or when they flash a pair up on the big screen to get some cheap cheers from the crowd. Then a quick skate out to the crease--I mean, I don't even have to bother with any of that warm up stuff--and bango, I've got my league-leading 23rd win. What's not to like?"

The Canadiens had jumped out to in impressive 4-0 lead before the Flames popped in a couple of goals in the second-half of the 2rd period, then tied the game with two quick goals in the first three minutes of the 3rd, signaling the beginning of Price's night.

"When I was called into action, I had just started listening to side one of 'Animals' on my iPod." recounted the All-Star goalie. "And when I got back to the bench, win in my back pocket, it had just started into the last minute of 'Dogs'. I'm kind of pissed that I missed almost the whole thing."

Music wasn't the only thing on his mind, however.

"To tell you the truth, I was kind of getting tired of having to bust my ass for a full 60 minutes, but then getting tagged with a loss because the guys in front of me were mailing it in with 8 or 10-minute nights. I mean, some of them didn't deserve the hot water in their showers," said Price, his voice starting to show emotion. "I could already have 28 or 30 wins if they pressed with the kind of 18-minute effort that I showed tonight."

The Canadiens are next off to Buffalo for a tilt at the HSBC Arena, but not before Price tends to an important matter: treating teammate and good friend P.K. Subban with a post-game meal for scoring the Habs 5th goal, in overtime, to seal the win. 

"I'll think I'll take him for wings at Cage Aux Sports."

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Auld fired up

Alex Auld defends his crease. Photo: Getty Images

They say that an army is as only as good as the guys behind the front line.  

That can so be said for a hockey team; the guys that have been charged with the support roles make it easier for the big guns to do their job. To that end, this year for the Canadiens backup goalie Alex Auld plays the role of reserve infantry to starter Carey Price's heavy tanks.

From the moment that it had been announced that Auld had signed on as the number two guy, there has been much second-guessing of the choice from many fans an media alike. Halfway through the season, though, Auld is doing everything that he can to prove that he is the right guy for the job. And it's not an easy one; being a backup goalie means working your butt of to be ready for playing time that could come today, tomorrow, next week, or even next month. You can be called on for spot duty, a scheduled start, to play in event of an injury, or even take the reigns of the starters' role should circumstances dictate.

With Carey Price so far having shouldered the bulk of the goaltending load, Auld is on pace to play in just 10 games this season. Expect that number to rise, though, as the Habs get deeper into the season and look to lighten Price's workload, especially on back-to-back game nights. 

Auld's performace to this point in the season should make it easier for Coach Martin to make that decision, too;  his 3-2-0 record, with a .941 save percentage and a 1.74 goals against average, though over a small sample size, exhibit that he is doing what he needs to be done outside of game action to be ready for when he does get the call.

If you were to ask him, Alex might say that the reason for his strong play would be his willing acceptance of his backup role. Last year, split between Dallas and the Rangers, he appeared in 24 games, with 20 starts; only three other times in his 10 seasons has he started more than 20 games, and in his only full-fledged season as a starter (2005-06) in 64 start he was 33-23-6, 2.94 GAA and a save percentage of just .902.

Hey, some guys just aren't built to shoulder the entire load, and that's cool. The best teams are populated by players that have defined roles that best make use of that player's abilities. It's called "playing withing yourself".

And for this year's edition of Alex Auld, it's a damn fine place to be.
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Leaf fans in a giving mood

"Some maple (leaf) syrup for your waffles, sir?"

'Tis the season for giving. 

And Leafs fans really gave it to their team on Thursday night at the Air Canada Centre, following a weak, 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, in the form of waffles being tossed onto the ice to show their displeasure with the performance of the Blue and White.

Why waffles? Beats me. Maybe they were out of raspberries, but it probably came about in a conversation something like this: "Honey, I'm going to the game tonight with the guys. In the probable event that the Leafs suck, do we have anything that I could toss onto the ice? Toe rubbers went out of fashion soooo long ago." 

Alternatively: "I hate the Leafs. They're waffle."

The Habs' opponent for tonight's game at the A.C.C. hasn't been having a great season, but one of their few victories came in the season opener against the Habs. For that game the Habs were without the services of Andrei Markov and Mike Cammalleri. Tonight they'll be missing an ailing Scott Gomez and... Andrei Markov. Add to that the fact that the Habs played a tough game last night in Detroit coupled with the Leafs having been idle, and it adds up to what will probably be a tough night, win or lose, for the Canadiens. Or they'll kick the Leafs' asses and put Leaf coach Ron Wilson one step closer to the ledge. What the hell do I know?

Look for the Habs to try to use their speed to force the Leafs to take penalties. The Leafs' penalty-killing "efficiency" sits at only 76%, and they've allowed almost a goal per game more than the Canadiens. Hab-castoff Mikhail Grabovski has scored in each of the last three games.

David Desharnais has been recalled from the Bulldogs, though it remains to be seen if he'll be in the lineup for the Habs. On a down note, Mike Komisarek will miss the game for the Leafs, which means that Mike Cammalleri will have one fewer players feeding him tape-to-tape passes in the slot for easy goals.

Tonight's game is, for the first time, being broadcast in 3-D on Hockey Night in Canada. Let's hope that 3-D doesn't stand for Dreadful, Dire and Disheartening.

2010-2011 Regular Season, Game 30: Canadiens at Maple Leafs

PREGAME:

• The John Lennon tribute on Hockey Night In Canada was nice, but wouldn't it have been better to air it the week before the anniversary? Feels like they forgot about it and are trying to catch up.
• Leafs are having a "Homecoming Night". Lots of ex-Leafs being introduced. They shouldn't do this. It just reminds viewers of how many medioce players they've had over the years.
• Leaf ceremonies always look awkward, like a bunch of high school boys standing around the edge of the gym waiting for a girl to ask them to dance. That said, Johnny Bower was one the the true greats. I would have taken Sittler and Clark on my team, too. But Todd Warriner being touted as an immortal? Yikes!

FIRST PERIOD:

• Cool! The Habs are in red tonight, for game 705 between these teams
• Cammy misses the net on a breakaway. Not a good omen
• At this rate, the Habs will end up with more icings than shots on goal
• Not good. Auld looses sight of a puck in the crease for an easy tap-in by Kessel. 1-0 Leafs
• Halfway through the 1st, and the Habs have yet to register a shot
• CA-REY!!! Auld whiffs on Kaberle's 1st goal of the season. 2-0 Leafs. And now Spacek is off with an injured hand
• Man, CBC's picture is jittery
• Grabovski high-sticks, Subban, no call
• Picard and Subban both -2 this period

Just about everything that could go wrong that period, did. The Habs followed up one of their best periods of the season in Detroit last night with one of the worst in Toronto Last night. Outshot 11-4, beat on faceoffs 12-7, down by 2 goals and a defenseman.

SECOND PERIOD:

• Well, at least they're showing a little more jump at the start of this period
• Darche takes a spear in front of the Leaf net, no call. Refereeing hasn't been the greatest over the last couple of games
• Shots 5-1 for Montreal so far this period, but all from the outside and ineffective
• Kessel hadn't scored in 11 games, Kaberle in 36. You just know that Kadri will score his 1st tonight
• Best part of the game: lots of AC/DC being blasted over the Air Canada Centre P.A.
• That makes up for missing on the breakaway in the first. Cammy with a wrist shot from the slot. Pleks and AK46 with the assists. 2-1 Leafs

The Habs skated a lot better in that period, catching the Leafs back on their heels for a number of rushes. Spacek gone for the game with an "upper body" (read: hand) injury. Shots: Montreal 12 (14) and Toronto 3 (14). Leafs lead in faceoffs, 32-18.

THIRD PERIOD:

• So many empty seasts at the beginning of a period in Torono tooks AWFUL on TV. You'd think that we were watching a game in Atlanta or Long Island
• WEAK penalty call against Hamrlik; a one-handed crosscheck, apparently
• A pretty uneventful period so far
• Hey... the Habs get a powerplay!
• But they do nothing with it
• There's been a serious lack of speed from both teams. Boring... I feel sorry for anyone who paid to be at this game
• A little life, but is it too little too late?
• Yeah, it was too late. And to top it off, and empty-net goal to finish it. 3-1 Leafs.

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Spacek executes the 'game plan'; shoot from bad angles and a long way out. Photo: Dave Sanford/Getty Images

What a difference 24 hours makes. Last night, between the Habs and Red Wings, we were treated to playoff-calibre hockey, and the third period was one of the best periods of hockey that the Habs had played all season. That's followed up with an extremely flat performance against a low talent team, making for a very unentertaining game to watch.

Quite simply, the Habs have a knack for playing up, or as in the case of tonight, down to the level of their opponents. As a fan it may be frustrating, especially because the Leafs didn't play a great game, but considering that they wouldn't play any bad teams in the playoffs it's a habit that I can deal with in (very) small doses.

Alex Auld might have sucked on the first two Leaf goals, but the rest of the team wasn't great, either, and didn't give him a lot of support. Still, it's tough to be down by two early while having to did yourself out of a hole. Kudos, to Alex, though, for getting sharp and holding the team in it for the rest of the game. Final shots were 23-22 for Montreal, with Toronto holding the edge in faceoffs, 35-30.

Never mind the final score, the biggest loss tonight might be that of Jaroslav Spacek. With Andrei Markov already out for the season, Spacek has been teaming up with Roman Hamrlik on the team's first defensive pairing. There's no word yet on the severity of his "upper body" injury, but if he's out long-term, the Habs are really going to miss his veteran play, especially with a tough couple of games coming up against Philadelphia and Boston.

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Fishsticks for dinner... again?



Biting the hand that feeds you


Christie Brinkley is an Islander fan.

Or at least, she purports to be in a new commercial that's shucking ticket packages for a little as 19 bucks per game. Christie must have money problems. $19? It's costs me more to go and see the Hamilton Bulldogs. But still... Christie Brinkley? Perennially on of the hottest women on the planet, and Islander fan? Makes sense, I guess, since she has a history of having a thing for losers. Clark Griswold comes to mind.

The Islanders have also created somewhat of a stir among Hab fans with their "No Habs No" campaign, which is meant to show the fans in bleu, blanc et rouge that Nassau Coliseum is Islanders country. Well, duh. If we actually liked it there, we'd make it Canadiens Country, and our snowbirds wouldn't have as far to travel.

The marketing geniuses customer unappreciation specialists of the Islanders are apparently trying to ward off a phenomenon that has beset their beleaguered franchise for a while now: their team being lustily booed in their own building. Not that it doesn't regularly happen from the locals, but Hab fans tend to show up en masse--thousands at a time--and turn the proceedings into a de facto Canadiens home game. All that's missing is Michel Lacroix on the mic and a couple of cute-as-buttons pregame flag-bearers. Hey, it's our party, and we'll 'ole ole ole' if we want to. At least we're buying your tickets, which is more that you can say for your fans. Besides, you don't want to piss us off. We burned the White House once. Don't make us come down there and do it again.

Tonight's game is the second half of a home-and-home, the Habs having skated a great game in winning Wednesday night at the Bell Centre. Rumour has it that the Canadiens are indeed carrying two goalies on their roster, and tonight we'll supposedly get visual proof of this as some guy named Alex Auld will be between the pipes. I expect him to be reasonable busy tonight. Whether or not he's reasonably good will be answered sometime around 10pm.

2010-2011 Regular Season, Game 10: Montreal at New York Islanders

FIRST PERIOD:

• D'oh! Technical problems... hopefully the game is up soon
• Bingo! Picture back just in time to see Pleks flip one up and in on the short side... and on the powerplay, no less! 1-0 Habs!
• You'd think that after that fiasco in Toronto that players would be careful around the goaltender fo the next little while. Right, Max? Laps off for goaltendner interference 
• Is Cammy a little gun-shy? He just passed up on a beauty scoring chance, instead looking to make the perfect play
• Auld looks steady, but rusty. He's being diplomatic with his rebounds, making sure that both teams receive their fair share. 
• Off the end of a powerplay, Isles have their first sustained pressure of the period

Habs picked up right were they left off against the Islanders on Wednesday night, dominating both territorial play, the shot clock, and the scoreboard. Shots in the first period: Montreal 12, Fishermen 7. 

SECOND PERIOD:

• Lots of Hab fans and empty seats. Guess that their "we'll show them who's in charge" promotion didn't work as well as they thought it would
• Isles forechecking hard in hopes of getting to the Habs before they can use their speed
• Sweet! Auld stones Matt Moulson on a breakaway! Not sweet: Pouliot falls down (again) creating the turnover that led to the breakaway. Benny... sharpen your skates!
• The "classic" design of these Iles uniforms look really sharp. Nice change considering the crap that they've worn over the last number of years
• Refs are pulling out their whistles, and the calls aren't going in favour of the Habs. No worries, 5-on-3 killed off
• 4 minutes left in the period, and the Habs have 3 shots. But they've won 21 of 31 faceoffs
• You could see that coming. Sloppy play behind the net, and Pleks misses his check in front of Auld. Bang bang, and it's tied at 1.
• Habs up to 4 shots, and more rough stuff to end the period

Welcome to the NHL, Matt Martin. He scores his first career goal in a period where the Islanders out-hustled the Habs at both ends of the ice. This was like the anti-first period. Islanders finished it with 13 shots (20), the Habs with less than a handful... 4, to be exact, for a total of 16.

THIRD PERIOD:

• Gill starts the period for 5 minutes in the penalty box
• Auld has played well enough to deserve the win. Let's see if they can get it for him. Some forechecking and a little offensive pressure would be a nice change, too
• Ugh. Habs still giving up the blue line way too easily
• That makes up for the falling down! Halpern feeds a wide-open Pouliot in the slot. Great wrist shot. 2-1 Habs!
• Aaaaand... Chris Lee strikes again. Habs have to kill their 5th penalty
• Aside from the first couple of minutes, this period has been much more even. Shots at 8 apiece
•  I'd hate to be in the 50/50 draw there tonight. You'd be lucky if you won your money back
• Auld suits the number 35 far mote than Pleks did
• Insurance goal! Gionta throws one on net from the boards, Moen deflects. 3-1 Habs!
• Isles hear the Goodbye Song in their own building. Na na hey hey... and time runs out!

That's more like it! Habs bushed back in the 3rd period, making up for the 19 minutes that they took off in the second. Auld, Pleks and Benny with the game stars. Shots in the 3rd: 10 for Montreal (26) and 11 for the Islanders (31). Habs also did a great job in the faceoff circle, winning 34 of 57.



The difference between .968 and 1.000. Thanks to Habs/Inside Out for the photo. 


I normally wouldn't eat fish twice in the span of a few days, but when it's as satisfying as feasting on the Fishsticks to the tune of four points, I'll make due.

There were quite a few sideways glances when the Canadiens signed veteran journeyman Alex Auld to backup Carey Price. Thanks to Price's great start to the season, it took until game 10 for us to see what Alex the Bald would bring to the table. Thankfully, he's been working hard to keep the rust off, and it showed in the win tonight over the Islanders. Ok, well, he was still a little rusty; a few of those long point shots, courtesy of big rebounds, ended up as secondary scoring chances in the slot. However, no harm, no foul. Kudos also to the defence who for the most part kept the shooting lanes clear and gave Auld ample opportunity to track the puck.

Two games against the Islanders, and two wins. And don't look now, but that CH that you see at the top of the league standing (at least for now) represents your Montreal Canadiens! A 7-2-1 record to start the season, especially with Andrei Markov having yet to play a game is quite extraordinary. Add to that a weak-assed, 30th-ranked powerplay, and their start is even more incredible. 

Back home against Florida tomorrow night, and the more things change, the more they stay the same. Last year Coach Martin had to deal with with the self-imposed Great Goalie Controversy. This year, it's time to play Who's Number Seven, as Martin will have to figure out who heads to the press box to make room for the return of Andrei Markov. A cursory glance would have you think that it would be Alexandre Picard who'll be sampling the Bell Centre munchies, though he's been steady as a rock and currently has a plus/minus rating of +7, which is something like 10th in the entire league.

Of course, Martin could decide to go a forward short and dress seven defensemen in order to give him a little flexibility as Markov eases back up to game speed. It's a tactic that he used last year in similar situations. Either way, it's not an easy decision. But then again, that's why he gets paid the big bucks, and I write this blog.   
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Marty sucks, but he's great. I'm so confused...



The net's the other way, Cammy


Tonight, the Canadiens take on the slumping Devils at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

We know this because there will be more than 8000 asses in the stands. And it's no wonder that those forked-tail bastards aren't drawing crowds at home; with a 1-4-1 record they sit 29th overall, and they rank 27th overall in both goals for (10) and goals against (21).

Interesting stat: though the season is still young, the Devils have yet to win on a weekend (0-2-0) while the Habs have yet to lose on a weekend (2-0-0). Unfortunately, today is Thursday. Both of the Hab losses--one regulation and one overtime--have come on a weekday. And the Devils only win? Yep... a weekday. Additionally, the Devils' only win has come on a road game. Someone beer me; this could be a long night.

The Devils' record is borne from a number of problems, the biggest of which may be the contract of Ilya Kovalchuk. With the cap money that his contract is sucking up, New Jersey has found themselves having to play bodies short just to fit under their daily cap allowance. Undermanned is never a good thing, especially if you can't afford to call up replacements for your injured players (Bryan Rolston, Bryce Salvador and Anton Volchenkov being the most notable). The've also been forced to fill out their defence corps on the cheap, which leads to probably their biggest hurdle: adequate protection for Martin Brodeur.

Marty isn't getting any younger, and a heavier workload during games has exposed some cracks in the armour of a goalie who up until now has had the benefit of playing behind a stifling defense. That said, you can't discount the fact that he's 38-16-5 all-time against the Canadiens, with a measly 1.78 goals against average. What it comes down to is this: he's still got the talent to will a win, especially against a team that he wants to beat more than any other.

With the benefit of a four-day layoff, Carey Price will again start in goal, meaning that Alex the Bald Auld will have after tonight (hopefully) not played a minute this season. And the revolving door continues on the Gionta/Gomez line. Tonight Tom Pyatt gets to play with the (little) big boys to see if they can generate some chemistry.


2010-2011 Regular Season, Game Six: New Jersey vs. Montreal

First Period:

• The dog's crapping everywhere, wife is suffering from mondo morning sickness in the evening... commenting could be quite sporadic tonight
• Will Pyatt be the spark that Gomez and Giona need on their line?
• Hey, a fight! Moen spent the entire thing trying to set up for the knockout instead of landing points. Lapierre's got to pass along some of his new-found knowledge
• Oops. Price doesn't hug the post, and is surprised by Parise coming out from behind the net. 1-0 Devils. Will that be all that Marty needs?
• Defensemen swatting at the puck scares me. Miss, and you're screwed
• When a player puts up his arms to say "I didn't do it", he probably did
• 20 minutes of pretty sloppy hockey. Hopefully they're shaken off the rust

Second Period:

• A slimy, greasy goal due to hard work would do the Habs good right about now. They've got to make life difficult for Brodeur
• Decent penalty kill. Will it bring some momentum?
• Good gap control by the Devil's defense. Need some quick passes to open up some skating room
• Devils are making it look like the Habs are playing on a smaller rink
• To stay competitive, Marty's girth will continue to grow in proportion to his diminishing mobility
• NJ powerplay expires, Hab defenseman deflects a point shot between Carey's pads. 2-0 Devils.
• After all these years, Brodeur really knows how to sell a goalie interference call
• 2 slimy goals for NJ, and two really boring periods of hockey. I could have been at Rock Of Ages tonight.

Third Period:

• Showing more energy in the first 2 minutes. Guess that JM reminded them between periods that they're wearing skates
• Price screened on a knuckler from the point. 3-0 Devils
• Powerplay. Pot one... please?
• Marty's seeing everything, and Habs are second to all rebounds
• NO bounces going Montreal's way tonight. They're even missing open nets
• If the Habs don't start cashing in on a few powerplays, teams will willingly start taking penalties. When's Markov back?
• Price with a great stop point-blank. He's had to make some great saves tonight, could've been 6-0
• The three shots against in the last 15 seconds will help Price's save% a little 

Zzzzzzz.... huh? what? The game's over? Next time the play the Devils, I'm puttin' toothpicks between my eyelids.

Well there you have it... the Devils easily played their best game of this young season, and it was prototypical New Jersey hockey: clog the neutral zone, forecheck just hard enough to make it difficult for the other team to exit their zone with any speed, and keep the the shooting lanes clear and the shots to the outside to make life as easy a possible on Martin Brodeur. After a game like this, it's easy to see why he's the all-time leader in shutouts.

So far this season, the Devils have two wins. Martin Brodeur has two shutouts. I'm starting to see a pattern here...

As for the Habs, they never looked like they shook of the rust that had gathered from a four-day layoff. In a nutshell, they didn't look ready to play. Price got caught napping on the first goal by not completely hugging his post, and the rest of the team couldn't get anything going in the periods that followed. It didn't help that the second goal was the result of not being able to exit their zone after coming back to full strength after killing off a powerplay, then having a defenseman thoroughly redirect a long shot between Price's pads. A screened Price couldn't do anything about a knuckler that floated under the crossbar for the nail in the coffin.

Oh, and the Habs powerplay? Don't even talk to me about it. It's been mentioned that Andrei Markov may return from ligament surgery next week, which should help them score with the man advantage. We can hope, anyway.

Ok, now for the good:

Haha. Ok, well, um... aside from that first goal, Price stopped everything that he should (and could) have, including a couple of beauty glove saves and a couple in from point-blank range. You know, the kind that the Habs couldn't muster against Brodeur all night.

All in all, meh. If you can't score, you can't win, and the Habs simply weren't able find a way to do enough to force the issue. Full credit to the Devils, though the Habs definitely owed a WAY better effort for the 21,273 in the stands what came to see then this Thursday night. At least I was only out my time and the seven bucks a month that I shell out for RDS.

I look at it this way: one game can be a fluke. If they turn in two stinkers in a row, then it's a trend, and something to worry about. Unless you're the '76-'77 Canadiens (and these guys aren't), no matter how well (or how poorly) they play, they'll probably lose 1/3 of their games. And the opposite is true: no matter how well (or how poorly) they play, they'll probably win 1/3 of them, too. It just so happens that tonight was one of the former. When they start pissing away the other third, then I'll start to lose sleep.

Next game (not that the Canadiens really played one tonight) is against the Senaturds. Let's hope that the Habs can find their skating/passing/hitting/effort between now and 7pm Saturday.
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