THIRD PERIOD:
- Upon review, the Toews goal was offside, but Habs bench, which wasn't paying attention, didn't challenge it. Inexcusable, but hey. What else is new?
- Andrei Markov hurt? That's lovely. Just keep piling it on.
- Thing is, the Habs aren't getting their clocks cleaned out there, but they're getting beat because they make too many little mistakes that often separate good teams from bad. The Habs are a bad team because even with all of their talent, they play a very un-structured game. Against a well structured team like the Hawks, especially on no rest, it's no contest.
SECOND PERIOD:
- Habs and Hawks after 20:
- Habs can't catch a cold, never mind a break, as Mitchell is given a high sticking call for not high sticking anyone. Sigh.
- Habs first powerplay cut short by a careless Plekanec high stick. Still, while it was on, Subban was fed numerous times, his shots looked pretty meek. He's either lost timing, velocity or confidence. Or all three. Whatever it is, he's not nearly what he used to be.
- And Hawks capaitize off Plekanec's huh stick, at the benefit of favourable puck bounces, something the Habs never seem to get anymore. 2-1.
- Various unforced errors by Torrey Mitchell tonight, who continues to struggle badly on that 4th line. Looked so good early in the year, but since return to injury, has become a definite defensive liability.
- Toews from behind the net tucks it in. Not sure what Scrivens was doing, not sure what the Habs defense, if you'd like to call it that tonight, were doing. I guess taking a stroll? Killer goal. I think this one is done.
- So, yeah. Habs pretty atrocious defensively, and the team as a whole, looked to have pretty much packed it in. Not sure what it's going to take to get Bergevin to make some sort of a shakeup, but now is as good a time as any.
FIRST PERIOD:
- And .... we're off. Two minutes in, snap shot beats a slow moving Scrivens top corner. 1-0. Hoo boy.
- Hey, maybe all is not quite lost yet - Eller finally buries a shot off a Beaulieu rebound. Game tied.
- Sweet carry and pass by Barberio that ought have sprung Eller in alone, but Lars muffs the pass. Nonetheless, Barberio continue to prove his mettle by making good decisions with the puck.
- Habs defense is just a mystery. Somali and confident the first two months of the season feeding the puck forward, now totally inept and inefficient. A fundamental reason why the Habs can't buy a win since early December? Puck transition and zone clearances.
- Don't know what Therrien Speer sees in this Desharnais line, other than wasting Galchenyuk's talents, but the line, in particular 51 and Weise, continue to be a defensive mess.
- Hawks pretty much carrying the zone at will, one big reason why their shot attempts are outpacing the Habs 2-to-1.
- While the Desharnais line continues to go nowhere, Lars Eller is having himself an excellent outing. Again. Lars hasn't been given nearly enough recognition for his play, which gets us right back to the usual topic of Therrien's deployment strategies. On most nights, Eller is usually the 2nd-5th least used Habs forward.
- Period started ominously enough, but Habs managed to not unravel. Still, Hawks ad an awfully well structured hockey team, which means the Habs will need to count on a few bounces and favours tonight if they hope to escape with any points.
Habs will try to avoid their 814th loss this season, as they take on the Blackhawks tonight, right in Chicago.
Won't someone please have some mercy on us?
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