Showing posts with label Toronto Maple Leafs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toronto Maple Leafs. Show all posts

Saturday, 25 February 2017

Game 62: Habs vs. Leafs

FIRST PERIOD:

- WELL ... how about this? Habs defensive pairings for tonight's game:

Weber/Markov
Petry/Emelin
Beaulieu/Nesterov

Still would prefer Beaulieu on that 2nd line, and why isn't Pateryn starting? Oh well. Baby steps.

- So the Islanders, whom the Habs couldn't muster up a single goal against on Thursday night, are losing 6-0 tonight to Columbus. 

- Early penalty to Lehkonen, League's best powerplay goes to work. Did we mention how crucial it will be for the Habs to avoid the penalty box tonight?

- PK looks good ... really good. They're settling into the new formation which formerly used to be diamond positioned. Already we can seen how well that change has worked.

- Galchenyuk makes a poor blind pass entering the Leafs zone, resulting turnover Matthews takes a shot that deflects off Emelin and then Nesterov, past Price. A fluky fluke goal. When things go bad for a team, seems like everything goes right for the other guys.

- This hasn't been an overtly bad period for the Habs - quite the contrary, they've held a distinct edge in play containing the Leaf's more talented forwards. But it's the same story with regards to the offence - they might have the puck more, but struggle to get shots away from dangerous spots.

- Again, Habs are structurally poor with the puck - they pass for the sake of passing, but it's not towards the construction of a good scoring chance. Zone entries have not been good tonight, or for that matter, the past 4 months.

- Pacioretty tips the puck through Andersen's legs, the puck trickles through and hits the post. Puck luck just adding to the woes.

- Two Habs powerplays that period, both going nowhere. Just not enough players on the same page, again, zone entries are pretty bad. Habs weren't bad, per say, but not really overtly dangerous - in particular, the Plekanec line, which looked so good against the Rangers on Tuesday, and so awful against the Islanders on Thursday, again seems to be regressing. 


SECOND PERIOD:

- Decent opening period for the Habs, with a ES Corsi over 65%. Under normal circumstances, that should translate into goals, but this is no normal Montreal Canadiens hockey team.


- Habs have 3 ... count 'em, 3 back in their own zone with the man advantage, Weber, Markov and Pacioretty. Neither can escape their own zone with 1, count 'em, 1 Leafs forward with shorthanded forecheck. Oy.

- Hoo boy. This really is bad:

- Habs out skating their opponent has resulted in more powerplay draws, they're about to try their 3rd man advantage. Not that it's going to lead to actual goals, mind you.

- Annnnnnnnd .... Pacioretty scores on the powerplay. This is as good a time as any to declare the Habs will never ever win the Stanley Cup this spring. 

- That Pacioretty goal came courtesy a sustained focus by the Leafs on the other winger, Radulov. That's why Pacioretty has thrived so much this season while playing next to Radulov - he draws so much attention by opponents that it frequently opens up the ice for Max.

- Marginal trip on Petry, Leafs number one powerplay back in action. Habs have actually played a disciplined game - good close checking, but nothing overtly over the line. 

- Nathan Beaulieu really shouldn't be utilized on the PK. He' more productive at even strength, and might actually be a solid asset on the powerplay. Short handed duties though, he often looks unsure and unsteady.

- Leafs all over the Habs on the powerplay, but Carey Price does his Carey Price thing - sure looks like he's in a zone. Has been really, since Julien started.

- Funny how just after your goaltender stones the other guys, the offence responds, and hello, it's Alex Galchenyuk, with a back monkey killin' snapper courtesy a ridiculous pass from Nesterov, that beats Anderson over the glove to give the Habs a 2-1 lead.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Leafs come out strong, Habs come out flat, and guess who are the culprits - well, culprit in this case, it being Alexei Emelin, who can't find his way back to his bench, gets stuck on a long shift, and lets Matthews get inside in front of Price to easily tip home a pass to tie the game. 

- Here's something go mull - Weber already looks much better with Markov on his side, and you all know why - he doesn't have to deal with covering up Emelin's mistakes. Guess who's struggling tonight? Why, it's Jeff Petry, who's been assigned the unenviable responsibility of being Emelin's partner tonight. At some point you have to listen to the message that's being screamed at you. Get Alexei Emelin out of the picture.

- Andrew Shaw might have faked out a high stick, sending Matthews to the penalty box for 2 minutes. So at the very least Shaw is on the right side of the penalty equation. 

- We gave Shaw plenty of grief in our preview, and I still think his acquisition was a bad move by Bergevin, but he's had a pretty good night - for that matter, a decent week. He's helped more than he's hurt, which for Shaw, is welcome relief.

- Habs have one powerplay goal tonight, but their zone entries are still pretty terrible. If you can't gain ice, it doesn't really matter what your powerplay setup is - you won't score.

- Matthews penalty expires, and then the Habs do a great job hemming the Leafs - Galchenyuk, Radulov and Shaw with some excellent work.

- Great work and smart play by Weber, sending Byron a nifty little shot pass that really should have been tipped home past Andersen. But Byron, being Bryon the past three months, can't finish the play.

- Habs have done an excellent job against the Matthews line - yes, he's scored both of the Leafs goals, but more often than not, the Canadiens have generated more scoring chances while Matthews has been on the ice. 

- Halfway through the 3rd, Habs have still only been nabbed for two penalties, which if they find a way of winning this game, will be a very significant factor.

- Shaw definitely a spark plug for the Canadiens tonight. Setting a very good example with his aggressive play.

- 3 minutes left, Habs should be inclined to just drain the clock and put at least one point in the bag, although this does not help them with the cause of creating some distance between themselves and the Leafs.

- Interesting indicator here - Emelin's minutes have been reduced in the 3rd, but more meaningful, the situations he's being deployed have been with limited responsibility. I'm confident Julien has fully realized what a liability his play has become, and deployments have been mainly to reduce the probability of negative consequences.

- Habs get the point, and again, head to OT. Another significant extra point on the line.

OVERTIME:

- Leafs are 1-7 this year in the shootout, so it's reasonable to assume they'll take a fairly aggressive approach to 3-on-3 play.

- Game saver by Price, stopping a Matthews breakaway after a bad turnover by Weber (who up until that giveaway had played a very solid game) in the Leafs zone. 

- How 'bout that? Just like in the 2nd period, Price makes the big save, and his offence responds - this time its Plekanec smartly feeding the puck off a rush in front of Andersen, and Andrew Shaw (yup!) breaks through to grab the puck and with a full head of steam, skates past a flailing Anderson poke check to tuck the puck home giving the Habs another huge extra time 2 points.

- A few things have become clear (or at least, more clear). 1. Not playing with Emelin on your side makes you a better player (Weber). Playing with Emelin on your side makes you a worse player (Petry). 2. Alex Galchenyuk with a nice rebound night, collecting two points, hopefully rejigging his season back in order. 3. Carey Price is most definitely back on his game, although one could reasonably argue it never really left him, he's just had to deal with more than 3 months of bad defence, and 4. the Habs speciality teams still dealing with mixed results. The PK has most definitely improved since Julien's return to the bench, but the powerplay, even though it scored once tonight, still falters badly, in particular in gaining the zone. That will somehow need to be put back into shape in short order, or future victories with just 20 games left on the regular season schedule, will be difficult to come by.





TOP 10 REASONS HABS WILL FINALLY LOSE TO THE LEAFS TONIGHT:

1. Nobody wearing a CH sweater can score a goal. Did you know it's been half a year since Torrey Mitchell scored? Not that Mitchell was ever the key guy to helping propel the Habs to greater heights, but he's just one example of the horrid secondary scoring issue the Habs are faced with. Artturi Lehkonen hasn't scored in 12 games. Tomas Plekanec in 13. I mean, just go down the list, and if you're name isn't Max Pacioretty, you're not helping.

2. The "defence' is a mess. How many more games will Claude Julien pairs the bumbling Alexei Emelin with Shea Weber. For most of the season, Weber has carried Emelin along, dealing with his bumbling zone exits, erratic passes to his forwards (read: dump outs along the boards), and generally terrible defence against speedy opposition wingers.

3. The Habs are trying to sail a totally different direction right as the season is winding down. For nearly five years this organization played some of the most insanely conservative hockey you could find this side of the Republican Party.  It took this organization and its general manager nearly five years to finally realize their system wasn't going to win them anything meaningful - if you consider scraping into the playoffs "meaningful". Now that new old blood of Claude Julien is in charge behind the bench, all those bad habits this team has picked up will need to be exorcized. This means no more puck dumps out of the zone, no more ping pong puck passing between the defence, it means an emphasis on meaningful puck possession, it means generating half-decent scoring chances from half-decent shooting spots, it means playing smart, not insanely stupid speciality team setups. We could go on and on about this, but the bottom line is this: Claude Julien might not have enough time left on this season's calendar to set his troops in order. The Habs ideally needed a coaching change last year in order to make the proper transition toward playing competent hockey. Now they're likely to miss the playoffs again. What can ya do?

4. The Habs are a collective mental case. That's what happens when a supposedly "good" team goes through a total meltdown like they did last season, when the Canadiens barely won a hockey game after the beginning of December. When the Habs started losing this season at (hey, now) the beginning of December, you could just see this hockey team slowly but surely devolve into a shivering shrivelling nervous breakdown, where little mistakes piled up like defeats. The Habs no longer play with strut or confidence or even purpose. They have, as Carey Price said last week, lost any semblance of an identity. The exist - seemingly just to offer wins to their opponents.

5. The big guy upstairs may have lost his ability to think. No, I'm not talking about God or Prophet Muhammad (praise be upon him) or Vishnu (what the hell, praise be upon him too). No, I'm talking about Marc Bergevin, who has managed to take a club featuring the best goaltender on the planet (yes, Carey Price), one of the NHL's top 5 scoring forwards the past 3 seasons (yes, Max Pacioretty), and traded off one of the NHL's best puck moving defensemen (yes, P.K. Subban) into a team that can't even muster enough wins to comfortable secure a playoff spot. And then there's the defence. Oh, the defence! Setting aside the infamous Subban/Weber deal, Bergevin has managed to disappear any semblance of a 3rd line defence. It started last year when he shipped Jarad Tinordi away for nothing (John Scott), and then this season, made another baffling decision to put the able Mark Barberio on waivers (something he could have easily avoided). And now, if reports this month are accurate, he's attempting to dump the only remaining "apt" 3rd pairing defender left in the organization, Greg Pateryn. Good lord.

6. The Leafs are no longer a terrible team. Funny things happen when you dump huge, chocking  contracts (David Clarkson 7 years, 36M) from your bottom line, while drafting wisely. You become, in relatively short order, a good hockey team. The Leafs, who tanked last season well enough to scoop up the Austin Mattehews, the second best forward of last summer's draft, have steadily improved as this season has progressed - so much so, they now find themselves just 4 points back of the reeling Habs for first place in the Atlantic Division. Now, why couldn't the Habs have taken the same page as the Leafs by getting rid of awful contracts like David Desharnais' (4 years, $14M), or Alexei Emelin (4 years, 16M), or Thoms Plekaenc (2 years, 12M)?? Who knows? Instead, Marc Bergevin took an opposing tact, hanging onto existing dead weight while added Andrew Shaw (6 freakin' years, 24M) and of course, Shea Weber, who'll be paid more than 7 million smacks a season until the year two zillion.

7. The Leafs have a prosperous future ahead backed by some pretty awesome young forwards. Mitch Marner. Austin Matthews. William Nylanders. All rookies. 142 points this season right there. Over on the Habs side, we have Artturi Lehkonen, Sven Andrighetto, Michael McCarron. 29 points this season right there. So you tell me, who's got a more dangerous lineup now, or in the future?

8. The Leafs haven't beaten the Habs in 13 straight games, a streak extending back to January of 2014. All good things must come to and end.

9. Andrew Shaw. "Trust me fans, you're going to love Andrew Shaw". That was said (I paraphrased) by Marc Bergevin last summer. Well, we've seen Andrew Shaw this season, and love isn't the first word that pops into my mind. And he's still got 5 years left on his contract, *after* this season. Instead of delivering "grit", Shaw has been more inclined to take stupid penalties at the worst possible times, making it more difficult for his shell-shocked teammates to go out an actually win hockey games.

10. Remember how 2016 sucked? And then 2017 came along as said "hey guys, you ain't seen nothing yet. Just you wait. We're going to have the Leafs winning their Division. Joke's on you!".

Puck drops tonight at 7:10 EST.







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Friday, 6 January 2017

Game 40: Habs vs. Leafs

Montreal 5, Toronto 3:

FIRST PERIOD LIVE BLOG THREAD:

- Scherbak will wear #38. I've mentioned it a couple of times on my Twitter, but I've actually officiated Scherbak - a couple of years ago to be exact. He's a smaller player, about average speed, but very good hands and puck handling ability. 

- Well, that didn't take long - Leafs with soft coverage in front of Andersen allows Radulov to find Pacioretty in front for an easy shot, and it's 1-0 Habs before we even hit the one minute mark.

- More slow-footed Leafs defending, Lehkonen sweeps around his wing and beats Andersen under the arm off a deflection. 2-0 Habs before the 4 minute mark.

- Leafs look pretty sluggish - they did play last night, while the Habs have two days rest, although granted, nearly half their lineup tonight is comprised of guys who regularly play in Newfoundland.

- Radulov, at least early on, is playing with pants on fire. Leafs having trouble handling him. The guy's amazing.

- Plekanec with a pretty preventable and unnecessary penalty. It's been a pretty good season for many Habs players, especially those who have stepped up to help fill injury gaps. Plekanec, though, has been a different story. Possibly his worst season so far as a professional.

- Bozak converts, Habs penalty kill continues to be one of the weaker parts of their game. It's been an issue for this team since the start of the year, but for whatever reason, little or no improvements have been made. Fundamentally, Habs don't play very structured game while shorthanded. More reactionary to the play, which is bad if you're shorthanded.

- Just another thought about Plekanec, he's coming up on 1,000 games in the NHL, which is pretty astounding for someone in his mid-30s. He's played pretty much injury free his professional career, the fewest season games being 67 way back in 2006 (not counting the strike shortened season). That many games over a relatively short period of time take their toll - what we might be seeing is early onset of the inevitable decline. 

- Real, real soft hooking call on Radulov. I mean, if that's the standard for a hook, there'll be a penalty box parade tonight.

- Kardri, tie game. More PK woes for the Habs, and the officials can now take satisfaction they've done their bit to get the game even again.

- Scherbak. Right place, right time on the powerplay. How about that? 3-2 Habs.
- At some point a megaphone will need to blast into the ears of every Habs roster player, STAY OUT OF THE GODDAMN PENALTY BOX. This is killing the Habs from winning easy games easily. While the Radulov hook was soft, the Plekanec slash was totally avoidable. As long as this team fails to make any progress in how it kills penalties, they will continue to get burned. Anyway, penalties aside, pretty solid period for the Canadiens.


SECOND PERIOD LIVE BLOG THREAD

- Habs with 47% CF (SA 5v5) in that first period - the Leafs really feeding off the momentum generated from the Plekanec penalty (first Habs penalty of the game), and then another boost from the Radulov hook:


- Something to keep in mind from what we mentioned in the pregame piece - the Leafs are team that's thrived this year from jumping out on the scoreboard early - their best period this season has been the 1st, their worst the 3rd. They don't play well behind on the scoreboard.

- Radulov converts off an early powerplay, the Leafs also playing poorly shorthanded tonight, structure not there. So maybe a little solace for the Habs poor play shorthanded. Radulov, for what it's worth, continues to play like a man possessed.

- Don't want to raise alarm bells, but Price looked to be favouring his right leg covering the puck up off a scramble. Might have had his leg wacked by a Leafs stick seeking the puck. 

- Yeah. Not 100%, but pretty sure Price is taking it easy with that right leg. Again, he might have had a stick or something hit it earlier from a scramble, and it's no big deal. We'll find out soon enough.

- Matt Martin with a glaring interference on Petry, the refs let slide. Since they won't do their jobs (at least, consistently), the players take matters into their own hands. McCarron and Farnham drop their gloves, McCarron does fine, Farnham reminds us how pretty much useless he is, and that the only reason he's playing tonight is because the Habs have so many injuries.

- Shea Weber shoots hard, hits hard, but does not play smart. Habs are leading by two gaols, and yet Weber is pinching hard looking to pad his goal total, which just gave the Leafs a clear-cut 2-on-1 break. 

- Zach Hyman with clear run on Carey Price, barreling into him hard while cutting to the net - totally inexcusable. 

- Pretty bad powerplay from that Hyman hit on Price, Habs totally go goofy in their own zone, making a series of awful turnovers and sloppy plays, but Price, in combination with a Leafs offence that really hasn't been clicking very well this period, ensures the Habs maintain their 2 goal lead.

- Mitch Marner might be my least hated Leafs player. He's got so much natural talent, Toronto is really lucky to have him.

- Ice Caps get caught chasing in their own zone, and when you're playing against guys like Van Riemsdyk and Marner, you're looking for big trouble. 4-3.

- Marner, man - he's so good. I WANT HIM ON MY TEAM.

- Well, credit to the Ice Caps Habs for giving the Leafs all they can handle tonight - they're out there working hard and producing offence, but the lineup thinness is really hurting the Habs in their own zone - 3rd and 4th lines are getting outmatched pretty badly by this talented Leafs offence. Whether or not the Habs can hang on in the 3rd can be seen, but I wouldn't be overly surprised if the Leafs overtake the Canadiens down the stretch.


THIRD PERIOD LIVE BLOG THREAD:

- Habs with a so-so 2nd period, their powerplay bailing them out a little, and they did, for the most part, play a smarter game in limiting Leafs powerplay opportunities. SA CF a tad under 50%, two-period total.


- Ready for more bad news? Lehtonen may be injured - wasn't seen for good chunk of the last half of the 2nd period. Haven't heard any word from the Habs as to what his status is.

- Tonight's game marks the 14th time the Leafs have entered the 3rd period trailing on the scoreboard. of the previous 13 games, Leafs have won twice. However, with the Habs this injury-riddled, anything is possible.

- Did I mention the Habs were smarter in the 2nd? Shea Weber got nailed for an extra two minutes attempting to punch Hyman's light's out at the end of the 2nd. So ... Leafs can even this up in a jiffy with a clean sheet of ice on a (brief) powerplay.

- Lehtonen on the ice early, so whatever issue he may have had in the 2nd has been sorted out.

- Scherbak works a little decoy, McCarron banks the puck off Andersen from behind the net to give the Habs some insurance. But it's still early. 

- That said, the Leafs have been a bad 3rd period team this year not because of goaltending. They need all the help then can get, Andersen muffing up won't help:

- Leafs are certainly trying, Price has had to make a couple of sparking saves this period - Habs playing a little bit loose in their zone, and a little tight in the neutral zone, so the Leafs are setting the tempo here. Maybe the Habs assume that Price will do the rest of the work? In any case, I wouldn't close the book on this game yet. Not by a long shot. 11 minutes left.

- Lehkonen got high sticked very badly right in front of the official, which somehow was either missed or simply let go. It hasn't been egregiously bad tonight, but the officiating has left a lot to be desires - missed calls, rather inconsistent. As a result, we've seen the players at times attempt to take matters into the own hands.

- Matthews, who's been more or less contained by the Habs tonight (good job there, guys) gets nailed for handling the puck off the draw. He didn't know you can't do that??

- Matthews had a decent scoring chance, but for the most part, the Habs have basically suffocated the Leafs last 10 minutes of the 3rd period. A real testament to some pretty impressively disciplined hockey.

- Carey Price in desperation mode is a sight to behold, if only because it happens so infrequently. Leafs pretty much out of time now, late powerplay, just 40 seconds left.

- Another bravado performance by this Habs team, so shorthanded, and yet, they find way s of winning, even if it's against not very good "good" teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs. And now, mercifully, they now get to play a hockey game at home.




CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE: THE LEAFS ARE GOOD!! (THEY AREN'T)

 Have you been watching the sports networks lately? Tuning into sports talk radio? Perusing the latest tweeting and twating? You might have seen, heard and read (repeatedly): THE LEAFS ARE A REALLY GOOD HOCKEY TEAM!!!

We beg to differ, of course - but hey, who are we to say in contrast to what's being cranked out by the media networks??
Hey, thanks for weighing in, Rogers! Gosh, the team you own and operating and make a kajillion dollars off of in ticket, media and merchandise sales are a good bet, huh?

Okay maybe we're being a little cynical. Let's consult an actual expert how how good this Leafs team really is:
Sorry. We got it wrong. The Leafs aren't good .... THE LEAFS ARE GREAT!! Thanks for weighing in Mr. James Mirtle, who recently started up a Toronto-sports-only publication called The Athletic. Actually, The Athletic is a pretty good publication - good core of journalists, well written, has a viable potential to set the standard as a profitable new media operation. But even The Athletic isn't immune to the tunnel vision that frequently affects the center of the universe: The instant a local sporting team wins a few games, the frenzy begins: The Toronto [franchise name] are great! Plan the parade!

So when the Leafs went on their recent little 5 game winning streak run, the chatter picked up in Canada's only city that matters: HEY, the Leafs are gonna do this! They're gonna make the playoffs! HEY ... they ... might be good ... no, wait. They might be GREAT. Is a championship coming out way in just a few weeks!?!!?!?!? 

 Well ... sorry Toronto fans, but your hockey team isn't great, and they won't be winning a Stanley Cup this spring. They might not be even the bare minimum - a "good" hockey team.

First, the good things about this Leafs team. It's core of young players are good - actually, let's ramp that up a little - they're dazzling. The Leafs combined rookie scoring so far this season is through the damn roof. Austin Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Conor Brown, Zach Hymen and Nakita Zaitsev have combined to score 141 points in half a regular season. That's crazy high offensive numbers from a set of players with minimal NHL experience.

The Leafs young high octane offence has moved them up to some pretty elite levels in comparison to the rest of the League. At 2.69 GF60, the Leafs have the 3rd rated NHL offence, bolstered by 4th rated SF60 (31.9), 3rd rated in shots attempt, and a half-decent powerplay (21.5%). This Leafs team plays fast, and they play exciting.

So while the Leafs crank out an impressive offence, there are other numbers that spell trouble. While Toronto is apt to pelt opposing goaltenders with plenty of shot attempts, the fundamental stats indicate this is a team with significant defensive issues. While the Leafs my have the 3rd most shot attempts in the NHL, their 5v5 CF% clocks in just under 50% (49.9), which is only good enough for 18th in the NHL. The number of shots the Leafs surrender averages out to 32 per 60, the 2nd highest in the League.

The net effect? Toronto gives up 2.56 GA60, the 3rd most in the NHL (only Philadelphia and the very lowly Colorado Avalanche are worse).

Even worse is the way the Leafs give up their shots and goals - as the game progresses, their defence worsens. Toronto has given up 42 3rd period goals this season (by contrast they've given up 29 1st period goals). When you play progressively worse in your own end, closing out victories over the length of a regular season becomes incredibly difficult. Toronto has been guilty of giving up significant 3rd period leads numerous times this season - there's little reason to believe that trend won't continue.

The bottom line? Even with very good goaltending by Frederik Andersen (2.61, .920), the current premise that the Leafs are "good bet" to make this spring's Stanley Cup Playoffs is, at best, weak. You might be a fun team, with loads of young talent with the ability to score a lot of goals, but if you can't keep your own end in order, over the length of an 82 game schedule, it's very difficult, if not impossible, to win enough times to nab a playoff spot.

Tonight, the "good - no wait, GREAT" Leafs host the Habs at the ACC. For the Canadiens, tonight's game is the end point of an epic 7 game road trip that started a week before Christmas. The Habs, as followers are well aware, will be icing very thin lineup tonight with 7 (count 'em!) regulars unable to play because of injury - the latest additions to the wounded list being Brendan Gallagher (2 months) and Paul Byron (day-to-day).

The rash of injuries, however, has opened the door of opportunity for some of the Habs prospects. Nikita Scherbak will get his first NHL start tonight, playing on the Habs 4th line. Scherbak has had an excellent season with the St. John's Ice Caps, the Habs AHL affiliate, scoring 20 points (10 goals) in 27 games this season.

So it's the "GOOD NO WAIT GREAT" Leafs and Frederik Andersen, against Carey Price and the injury hobbled Habs.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.


 FRIDAY HABS NEWS 'N' NOTES:

Okay, we've got a lot of Habs-related news to pass your way today.

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first.

Given where the shot was taken, who took the shot, and the blood that was oozing out from his hand, we kind of figured it would be a couple of months. The wording is "minimum" is unusual for a prognosis - usually a range of expected return is given, not the minimum return, which likely indicates the injury was very, very bad. So March at the earliest, but don't be surprised if Gallagher isn't back at least until the playoffs.

Okay. Other not-so-bad-news:

- Alex Galchenyuk and Andrei Markov participated in practice today, which puts the former way ahead of recuperation schedule. While today he (Galchenyuk) was officially ruled out of playing Saturday night, Michel Therrien was quoted as saying that both players are "they're close. They're really close" to retuning to the lineup. So, don't be surprised if we see both Galchenyuk and Markov playing next week, which will give this injury-embattled Habs lineup some respite:

- Can we toss in some bad news again? There's no status update about Paul Byron, who took a hard hit to the head in Dallas, which is usually a bad sign if concussion is involved. So don't expect him back any time soon - another very significant blow to the Habs offence.

- In response to the latest round of injuries, Habs brought up Sven Andrighetto, and Nikita Scherbak - the later of whom is confirmed to start tomorrow night in Toronto. It will be Sherbak's NHL debut. He's likely to be placed on the Habs 4th line, so don't expect to see too many shifts during his first game.

We'll update this page with anything important that comes our way.


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Saturday, 19 November 2016

Game 19: Leafs vs. Habs


LIVE GAME STREAM:


LIVE GAME BLOG THIRD PERIOD:

 - Remember last year, when Michel Therrien drove many a Habs fan insane by constantly deploying players who weren't performing more than he was deploying the players that were contributing most? Well, take a lookie here after 40 minutes:

CF (5v5)
Shaw (36.4%) - 10:52
Pacioretty (44.4%) - 11:05
Danault 62.5% - (8:29)
Gallagher 66.7% - (9:30)

Spot the pattern?

- Joel Hanley is not having the night he needed or hoped for to make the case that he should stick with the big team as the 6th defenseman. Will Barbario get the next shot?

- Alex Galchenyuk has been doing all that centre is supposed to do, and more, scoring in 15 of 18 games this season. But he needs to get off the setup train, and be willing to shoot the puck when the opportunity arises. There's selfless, and then there's smart.

- Leafs defence much more involved this period, pushing the puck deeper than they were able to the first two periods. It's generating more puck possession events in the Habs zone, which is not a thing you want if you're holding just a one goal lead.

- 10 minutes left, it's a nasty storm brewing, with the Leafs being more aggressive in Montreal's zone, and the Canadiens being much more defensively passive. Makes for a very, very tenuous one-goal lead. Don't be surprised if Toronto manages to find the back of the net at least once more before the final siren is played.

- 8 minutes left, a thought occurs - maybe the Habs' legs are just giving out, since they played last night, took a late plane back to Montreal. That could be the factor.

- Joel Hanley loses a foot race and an icing, because of hustle. Leafs very nearly score on the resulting blow play. This will not help him earn a spot back in the lineup any time soon.

- Matt Martin with uber-ugly and dangerous blindside board on Beaulieu. This is the kind of play that should be 5 + game. One day the League will (hopefully) wake up and make it so:
- Hudon nailed with a questionable interference penalty with just under 4 minutes left. Hang on to your hats, Leafs might tie this thing up after all.

- Habs do a pretty good job killing the penalty, Andersen out of the goal. Now it's hang on for your lives.

- Therrien burns his timeout, for reasons that can only be described as puzzling ...

- Empty net, maybe Gallagher can end his drought??

- Habs hang on, barely. Leafs with a very good 3rd period where they totally outplayed their opponent, but it isn't quite enough. At least the losing streak is stopped at a manageable 3 games, but the Habs will still need to sharpen their efforts in the coming week, and clamp down on not making the same avoidable mistakes committed tonight. The Leafs, with all that talented youth, are still not a very good team, so positivity from tonight's win is reserved.
LIVE GAME BLOG SECOND PERIOD:

 - Habs and Leafs after 20 minutes, with Canadiens SA CF (5v5) at 62.1%:


- Did we mention enough how badly that first period went for the Leafs' Hunwick and Polak? If the Habs are paying attention, they're matching up the speed of the Galchenyuk line against Toronto's more glaring defensive weakness tonight.

- More poor defensive play by the Leafs around Andersen, they barely escape as Emelin fails to put the puck into a pretty much gaping net. Bozak gets a penalty, Habs to the powerplay.

- Takes Habs 4 seconds to score on the powerplay, another sweet pass by Radulov on the tape to Galchenyuk who, unlike Emelin moments earlier, does not fail to miss open nets. 2-0.

- Leafs with a nice push here, but they have another problem: Carey Price.

- Not an hyperbole here - I cannot think off hand of any Habs in recent memory who passes the puck as efficiently and accurately as Radulov has demonstrated this season. Maybe Saku Koivu? It's pretty heightened company.

- Bad holding penalty by Pacioretty. Hockey can switch on dime, which means it's critical that avoidable mistakes are avoided.

- Carey Price is simply brilliant handling the puck - so much so it's almost not a PK when it's a PK.

- Nylander scores off a failed Price poke check, and Pacioretty's dumb penalty hurts the Habs, losing half their lead in an instant.

- Pacioretty stupidity has a two-fold effect. First, Leafs score, and second, they generate momentum that up until that dumb hold, they didn't possess.

- Radulov - an incredible season so far. A game-changing player. Having a monster game tonight. When he's not making perfect passes, he's hustling back to break up the Leafs transition. This Habs team is unquestionably completely different, for the better, with him in the lineup.

- Credit where it's due, Emelin takes a puck to the face off a point shot, goes to the bench, refuses assistance. Won't miss a shift. That's pretty hockey tough.

- More even period, largely because Habs, who were controlling this game, made too many avoidable mistakes, the most glaring was Pacioretty's holding penalty which lead to a Leafs PP goal, and gave Toronto desperately needed momentum. Then Danault with a bad hooking call in the offensive zone. These are easily avoidable plays. So here we have a game that the Habs ought be comfortably ahead, but instead, find themselves ahead one tenuous goal. Not good.


 LIVE GAME BLOG FIRST PERIOD:

 - From 4th liner to healthy scratch and then all the way to 2nd line centre, I have no idea how David Desharnais manages to defy the laws of hockey gravity, but that's where he's playing tonight, with Pacioretty and Shaw on his wings.

- Radulov is confirmed to start, so the Habs lines will be as thusly:

Bryon/Galchenyuk/Radulov
Pacioretty/Desharnais/Shaw
Hudon/Plekanec/Gallagher
Danault/Mitchell/Terry

Daniel Carr is the healthy scratch, to make way for Radulov.

- As we boldly predicted last night, Greg Pateryn will be a healthy scratch, which means Joel Hanley slots back into the lineup. He'll pair up with Nathan Beaulieu.

- Ah, Saturday night Leafs and Habs hockey, we can't get enough of you. Really nice hard, fast start to this game.

- A return to sanity? Habs first powerplay line, Galchenyuk/Radulov/Gallagher.

- Pretty good first attempt, Habs puck movement was good, but that's in large part because the Leafs defence is so green. They're struggling to keep up with the speed.

- And Chris Terry draws a hooking penalty, in large part because Leafs defence can't react quickly enough as Terry carries the zone. Habs right back on the powerplay.

- Torrey Mitchell just got a shot on goal. So what, you might ask? It's his first registered shot since early November.

- 2nd powerplay a bit of a mess, mainly because Habs were very poor simply gaining the Leafs zone. That's a sure sign the unit is heading into a funk.

- Anderson can't handle a Weber bomb from the point, which one can fully understand and sympathize with, Byron tucks in the big rebound. Habs rewarded for having held the bulk of opportunities this period.

- Habs getting back to a better formula this period - more bodies to the net, working to expose the mostly inexperienced Leafs defence. If Andersen gives up more rebounds, there could be more good scoring chances ahead for the Habs tonight.

- Leafs weak link defensively is clearly Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak. They're getting roughshod by speedy Habs attack.

- Considering this is the 2nd of back-to-back for the Habs, that was a pretty good period - perhaps aided by the Leafs defence. Regardless, Habs controlled much of the period's tempo, pushed the net, and used their speed much more effectively than they did earlier this week against the 'Canes and Panthers.


 GAMEDAY NEWS 'N' GAME PREVIEW:

- Habs announced this morning that Sven Andrighetto has been banished back to the rock that passes for Newfoundland. That means 1) Charles Hudon impressed enough last night to keep from being banished himself again, 2) Alexander Radulov is probably gonna play tonight.

- Lines, lines, lines. We got lines for tonight's game. First, da Leafs:

 Komarov/Kadri/Nylander
van Riemsdyk/Bozak/Marner
Hyman/Matthews/Brown
Martin/Smith/Soshnikov

 Rielly/Zaitsev
Hunwick/Polak
Gardiner/Carrick

 Frederik Andersen

And over in Habsland - we're not sure, tbh. Radulov isn't confirmed at the time of this posting, so the final forward lines are a total guesswork.

- Here's a nice little bit of CF% from last night's losing game against the 'Canes:

Galchenyuk, Alex: 65.9
Gallagher, Brendan: 67.7
Byron, Paul: 58.1
Shaw, Andrew: 53.6

So, who got the most ice time?

1. Shaw, Andrew: (19:45)
3. Galchenyuk, Alex: (16:38)
6. Gallagher, Brendan: (15:03)
7. Byron, Paul: (14:50).

Folks, those are poor deployment choices.

- Okay, it's mid-November, which means we're well overdue to REV UP THE EXCUSE MACHINE:
HAHAHA ... Michel Therrien is complaining about puck luck. HAHAHAHA ...


Yeah, the Canes scored a couple of nifty goals off some pretty crazy deflections, and yeah, Al Montoya let in a softy that proved to be the game winner, but really now - you're complaining about the lack of breaks? YOUR TEAM'S WINNING RECORD HAS DEPENDED ALMOST ENTIRELY ON THEM.

- Okay, other side of the ice, hey remember that first round pick that media, which just so happened to all be located in the centre of the universe better known as the Greater Toronto Area, were falling all over themselves in hailing as hockey's second coming?

Remember that guy? Austin .. somebody or the other. YEAH. THAT GUY.

He hasn't scored in a month.

- Andrew Hammond. Remember him? He was riding the wave less than two years ago, leading the Ottawa Senators' charge against the Habs in the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs. Anywho, Sens waived him this afternoon.

- Puck drops tonight at 7:10 EST. Special note: refs are wearing head cams!!!

- UPDATE: With just over 2 hours before puck drop, Radulov is not confirmed to start. Apparently he'll be a game-time decision. So lineups still pretty much impossible to determine in advance.

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Friday, 28 October 2016

Game 9: Leafs vs. Habs


FIRST PERIOD:

 - Big off season acquisition Frederik Andersens' SV% line in his 2016-17 starts:

.833
-960
.853
.886
.708
.935

Pretty sure the Leafs brass was hoping for more consistency. ICYW, Andersen's two strong outings were against Boston and Florida, he bombed the joint against Tampa Bay.

- Line matching watch - Weber and Plekanec line put out against Kadri line, 4th lines against each other.

- Therrien puts out Mitchell line to check Leafs Matthews line. Within 20 seconds Hyman hits the crossbar.

- Pretty good looking first powerplay by the Leafs, puck movement was good, Habs were a bit soft covering the passing lanes, just that nobody was able to finish with quality shots.

- Yum, yum, Galchenyuk and Radulov sure look a match made in heaven early in this game. More, please.

- Gears shifted at bit, Plekanec line put out to check the Matthews line. He and Nylander look awfully good tonight.

- Soft hook call on Emelin who gets called for doing his job, in this instance, guarding a streaking Mattchews as he crashed the Habs net. Zach Hyman totally overreacts, pummels Emelin, and gets nothing for it.

- Ice looks to be not good tonight, puck bouncing a lot, which didn't help either team to generate high danger scoring opportunities. Leafs look like they came to play tonight, Habs were given all they could handle by the super-duper fast Matthews line, which is strides quicker than slow footed defensemen like Emelin, Weber and Markov. Habs will need to adjust their neutral zone forecheck to at least try to slow down the Leafs young speed. Otherwise, the Leafs might be tough to beat.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs 1st period possession numbers weren't very good. 5v5:


- Plekanec line took a real hammering that period, with Pleks and Byron both with 25.0% CF while 5v5, largely because they were assigned checking roles, and largely because the lines they were assigned to more or less dominated them. That line will need to pick up its game immediately.

- Habs defence also was taken to the cleaners in the first - playing most of it on their heels, and doing a fairly poor job feeding the puck out of their zone, mainly because they had trouble containing the Leafs young speedsters, in part because the Leafs were being pretty aggressive checking in the Habs zone.

- Habs first powerplay looks really good, Therrien putting out the Canadiens best playing line in Radulov/Galchenyuk/Gallagher. Pinned the Leafs almost their entire shift with excellent puck control along the boards, and creative shot attempt setups.

- A ridiculous play by Radulov on a broken play, picks up a loose puck deep in Leafs zone, fakes a shot and makes an absolutely pin-perfect pass to a streaking Galchenyuk coming down the left wing, who slaps it home. No chance for Andersen. That's pretty much as good as it gets. 1-0 Habs.

- Habs getting sloppy, Leafs coming really close from the 10 minute mark, but Carey Price is, as usual, coming to the rescue. Byron, who's struggled tonight, with a bad giveaway at centre ice that creates a Leafs breakaway, while the 4th line is, like the 1st period, getting destroyed by Leafs speed and aggressive forecheck.

- Leafs continue to apply some pretty aggressive forecheck in the Habs zone - it's been ongoing the past 4 minutes. Canadiens need to slow this game down, and find a way of reducing the pressure. Otherwise, it's going to be 1-1 very soon.

- Babcock doing his best to match lines - sending out either Kadri or Matthews line every time the Mitchell line steps on the ice. Leafs have been generating tons of shot attempts because of this.

- Polak with clear-cut check from behind on Shaw draws a 2 minute boarding  penalty. I'm of the opinion it's not nearly enough - the League must start handing out 5 minute majors and game misconducts for this kind of dangerous garbage. Babcock, as much unsurprisingly as unbelievably, acting incredulous over the call.

- Habs the better team first half of the 2nd period, Leafs the much better team last half. But Carey Price just makes it look so damn easy - I can't even begin to fathom how frustrating it must be to play against him. Given his age, this might be peak Price. One of the greatest goaltenders in history at the height of his professional playing career. It's a marvel to watch, and it might just get the Habs another 2 points in a game they've clearly been outplayed.
THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Leafs after 40 minutes, Canadiens were again outplayed in the period, the CF dropping more to 39.1%, Fenwick just barely above 41%. Those are bad numbers, but ... you know, Carey Price.


- First shift of the night by the Plekanec line (matched against Matthews line) that results in scoring chances. A good sign for the Habs where there's little margin for error.

- Soft hooking call on Radulov, and Kadri redirects a point shot past Price to tie the game. Canadiens bench still fuming about that penalty.

- Carey Price being ridiculous again, flashing out the glove and keeping the Leafs from grabbing the lead. At least for now.

- Habs 4-on-3 powerplay, beautifully controlled by the Galchenyuk line, with Weber added in. One timer shot by Weber simply unstoppable. Montreal takes 2-1 lead.


- Emelin caught out of position is forced to take an interference penalty. The Leafs powerplay is 25% this season, which is awfully good. And it's looked particularly dangerous tonight. Habs making this game much more difficult than it need be.

- 7 minutes left in the 3rd, it's been a better period for the Habs, certainly not getting as badly dominated by possession, a good part because of improved play by the Plekanec line.

- Plekanec line has really contained their assignment, mainly the Matthews line, this period. It's made a huge difference in helping the Habs to guard a narrow lead.

- Leafs are really blessed. Some shifts it's hard to tell who's better. Matthews or Nylander.

- 1:40 left, Leafs have been pressing here, but Habs have contained the slot pretty effectively this period, the only big let down being the Kadri goal. Leafs should be crashing here, looking for a late tie.

- Habs hang on Leafs last minute push to complete an almost-perfect October. 17 out of a possible 18 points. Habs outplayed as usual, Carey Price steals two points. You've read it before, you've seen it before, this is just same old same old.


 GAMEDAY GAME NOTES:

 Lines lines ... we got game day lines:

- Radulov/Galchenyuk/Gallagher (looks good should be very fun to watch)
- Pacioretty/Desharnais/Shaw (uhh, DD and Shaw as a top 6 line? Oy).
- Lehkonen/Plekanec/Byron
- Danault/Mitchell/Flynn

- Weber/Emelin
- Markov/Petry
- Pateryn/Beaulieu

 Carey Price

 Meanwhile on the other side of the rink:

- Momarov/Kadri/Brown
- Hyman/Matthews/Nylander
- Van Riemsdyk/Bozak/Marner
- Martin/Smith/Griffith

Rielly/Carrick
Gardner/Polak
Marincin/Zaitsev

 Frederik Anderson

Okay, with that out of the way, check out this little gem quoted after Habs practice this morning:


And here I thought all this time that professional coaches of professional teams actually do research to help prepare their teams for upcoming games. What was I thinking?!?

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.


YAY! THE LEAFS ARE BACK IN TOWN!

Ah, Toronto. Ahhh, Leafs fans. We've missed you so. It's been 245 days since we've met. That's a very, very long time. So long, I think it's probably time we do a little refresher about how wonderful it must feel to be a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs. TO THE TIME MACHINE!!!

Remember this goal?? It happened a certain night in May.



Remember that? No?? Well these fans haven't forgotten:


She looks nice. How about this couple?


They look happy. They must be thinking about how the average single ticket price to watch a Leafs game is $377.71. In American dollars. Plus parking. Plus beer. Happy fans!!

Let's head outside for a while:



Awe, they're hugging! They must like each other. I think we need some crowd shots.




They're clearly all thinking about how great it is to be fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs, or as the common folk like to say, proud members of LeafNation! (all rights reserved). Let's get another angle of their joy:


I sure wish I was a Leafs fan. It seems like they have so much fun together. Oh well.





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Saturday, 27 February 2016

Game 62: Leafs vs. Habs

FIRST PERIOD:

- Was wondering if Parenteau would make it all the way to the final lineup tonight, given how it's already been declared that he's to be traded.

- Danault right in the lineup tonight, so let's see how he plays. He's often criticized for his shot selection (often low percentage). Something to watch for.

- Kadri left totally unmarked in front of Condon, receives puck all alone because of sloppy Plekanec turnover, with Emelin off somewhere else. One play - indicative of how poorly this team plays with the puck in their zone.

- Uh, so the Habs getting steamrolled early by a team that would be tough to find wins against an AHL-level opponent, with Hunwick cashing in off a juicy Condon rebound, both Pateryn and Bartley with some poorly coordinated coverage. 1-0 Marlies-light!

- What a shot by Galchenyuk, a sniper writer that Bernier simply doesn't see. Bernier complaining that Eller bumped him, which is a whole lotta whining. Really think Leafs are wasting a challenge here.

- Terrible first 5 minutes for the Habs, but that awesome AG27 goal seems to have woken the team up.

- Seems like Parenteau has been traded? Pulled from the ice in the middle of the period. Here we thought only Pierre Gauthier did that kind of thing.

- I guess Parenteau is off for medical attention.

- Eller looking excellent, again. Can't fathom why Habs management seems so ... determined (?) .. to ship him out of town. More often than not, the line he's centred this season is the best of any given game. 

- Between 5 and 17 minute mark of the period, Leafs didn't muster a single shot attempt on Condon. It's a steep learning curve for a lineup mostly composed of works-in-progress.

- Habs continue to shoot themselves in their own foot by not being able to make even the simplest zone exit with the puck. More turnovers, mostly unforced, eventually resulting in Pacioretty getting nailed for a trip. Habs sloppiness with the puck in their own end really underscores how structurally dysfunctional this hockey club is. 

- Bookend period for the Leafs, they controlled the game first 5, and last 3 minutes. Otherwise, it was all Habs in the frame. Canadiens could probably get some cushion on the scoreboard if they were to be a little more intense with the forecheck, especially against such an inexperienced opponent. More pucks on Bernier, the better.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Leafs after 20 minutes, Canadiens with 61.4% CF (5v5). Eller line with 90+% CF (just to give you an idea of how much they dominated). 


- Leafs management/coaching will/should receive a lot of grief about this, but looks like Parenteau won't return tonight, which underscores the importance of why you NEVER play a guy you're trying to trade.  Now Toronto will be stuck with him, a no returns (probable 2nd round pick) coming back. 

- Official. Parenteau is gone for the night with UBI. And with him, any possible hopes for a trade. 

- Gallagher smacking a puck home with a high stick, so Habs denied a goal. Still, they have controlled much of the period, and the game in general. Leafs really, really soft slot protection in front of Bernier. 

- Habs push to the net and traffic in the slot pays off (finally), with McCarron generating a turnover using his body, a point shot from Emelin is neatly deflected by the big winger past Bernier, and probably would have gone in itself. Smith-Pelly, however, finishes the play. 2-1 Habs. The play that McCarron made to help give the Habs the lead is the kind of play that will help him to establish a more permanent spot with the big team.

- Kadri. Such a good forward, but dumb as a pile of rocks. The trade-off isn't good for any team that has him on their roster.

- Habs with an oddly experimental powerplay, which is fine if you have a comfortable lead in the game, not fine if you're holding a one goal lead. Byron/De La Rose/Danault line? Uh .. kay?

- Another poor Habs powerplay, puck being worked again way too much around the perimeter, which given how soft the slot is tonight, really makes no sense. Opportunities lost.

- Habs kids really strong tonight, Andrighetto with strong two-way game, McCarron making an impact ... something to be said about playing youth this time of year. Might even make this team better? 

- Pretty even period, possession-wise. Leafs no real sparkling scoring chances, save a Komarov breakaway off a terrible Galchenyuk pp turnover. We should be reminded that this Leafs lineup is totally depleted .. there should be no reason why they ought to be even whispering at a win, and yet, just one goal down through 40 minutes, their odds remain pretty good. Habs need to really push in the 3rd to gain some insurance.


THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Leafs through 40 minutes. Leafs find themselves down 2 forwards in the 3rd, with Parenteau and Froese now out for the night.


- McCarron with a very strong game, but has barely received 5 minutes of ice time so far. Part of the Canadiens' culture, alas.

- P.K. Subban assessed a penalty for speaking. I'd like to say that's a joke, but sadly, it's not.

- Can't imagine any other player in the NHL being given a T for simply speaking. The rule seems to be only applicable to Subban. Draw your own conclusions. 

- Wow. East, west, west, one timer, an incredible shot by Pacioretty top corner. So hard, so fast, nobody noticed. Not even the train whistle guy. Habs get insurance off a beauty goal. 

- Watching Galcheyuk tonight, he's essentially playing as a centre, which is fine because his (Eller's) line has been excellent tonight, but not fine because it's a dysfunctional setup. Still maddening how the braintrust refuses to put him at his natural position. Oh well.

- Pacioretty piles on with his 2nd, Bernier totally misplays a point shot off the backboards. Leafs coverage in front is atrocious. What can ya say? Leafs getting stomped now.

- Kind of odd how incredible a natural scorer Max Pacioretty is, and yet on breakaways, he's death.

- Habs with a pretty intense 3rd period, credit the youth. So many times this season we've seen the team do a collective 3rd period letdown, usually attempting to protect a slim lead. Tonight, different story. Habs come into the period with one goal lead, and play aggressively. Guess what? They score, easing their way towards a relatively straightforward victory. See? It's really not that hard.

- McCarron with garbage ice time, which is a shame. Feels like the Habs could have played their youth a bit more tonight. Therrien still playing it too safe.

- Pretty solid game for the Habs, McCarron especially so making a significant impact. Even Danault looked pretty decent in his debut. Habs now stand 5 points out of a wildcard spot - still far out of reach, but something ... even if the odds are slim, to still play for. 19 games left. Who knows? Stranger things have happened. 




HABS VS. THE LEAFS. WHEN YOU PLAY AGAINST A TEAM WITH NO ROSTER

Happy Saturday night game day! Been a long time since the Habs hosted a team on "Hockey Night", and this time, it's the Leafs! Schweeet.

At least, I think it's the Leafs? Does this team have any roster players left? Today Taronno shipped out James Reimer to the San Jose Sharks for essentially nothing in return. More space off the cap! Are the Leafs actually paying anybody to play for them anymore? Actually, technically, yes - Toronto still has a payroll - $38M to be precise. Which means the Leafs can now offer Steven Stamkos a six year, $360 million contract this summer. STEVEN. DUDE. TAKE THE MONEY. Thank me later, babe.

With all the wheeling and dealing Toronto's been doing the past few days, they now have 27 draft picks to use over the next three years, 17 of which will come in the first 3 rounds. Yeah. This could be a very, very good team. In about 2022.

But how 'bout them Leafs now? Uh. They're not good. Here are Toronto's lines tonight:

- Grabner/Kadri/Kamarov
- Greening/Holland/Winnik
- Leivo/Acrobello/Parenteau
- Leipsic/Froese/Boyes

Riely/Hunwick
Percy/Corrardo
Gardiner/Marincin

Bernier.

Okay then. How many of those names do you recognize? If your answer was anything over "6", then (like it or not) you're a Leafs fan.

Meanwhile over in Habsland, CHANGE! In case you've been sleeping in a lot, the Habs traded off Dale Weise and Thomas Fleischmann to the Hawks, in return for grinder (because we don't have enough of those, sigh) Phillip Danault (QUEBECOUS!!), and a 2018 2nd rounder. We here at Habs Game Blog more-or-less approve of the deal, because Weise serves no purpose in playing out the string, and Fleischmann, except for the first couple of months of the season, has largely been an ineffective 3rd line winger (and more often than not, a defensive liability). So Danault, who has a good work ethic reputation, is liked by his teammates, and of course, a draft pick, is something to work with.

So with players moving out, the Habs have a grand opportunity to give some of the futures a good look. 14 foot 6 inch Mike McCarron will get a start tonight, as will (probably) defenseman Morgan Ellis.

Key for the Habs tonight? PLAY THE KIDS. Also, there should be no excuse for a loss since this Leafs team would have a pretty tough time beating their affiliate, the Marlies. That's not a joke, by the way. Toronto's roster really is that thin.

Mike Condon will start in net tonight for the Habs. Puck drops at 7:15 EST.



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Saturday, 23 January 2016

Game 48: Habs vs. Leafs

OVERTIME:

 - So will Therrien put Markov out in OT?

- Heck of an entertaining OT, pretty shady defence both ways, but the finishers in question, DD, couldn't finish.

- Habs really needed to win that via 3-on-3 because Mike Condon, full respect, is not good in shootouts. Heavy, heavy Leafs advantage here.

- A nail-biter shootout, Lars Eller a deserved hero. We breath. Habs ... win?? Yes they did.


 THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Leafs after 40 minutes, Leafs with not so much a great 2nd period, more a reflection of how poorly Habs performed in that frame.


- Eler line is having an amazing night for the Habs, Lars' CF% after 40 minutes is a crazy 88% (!!!!), and yet, he, and the rest of his mates, are fighting hard to see much in the way of shifts. This Habs team defines dysfuctionality to the extreme.

- Is there any bigger diver/embellisher in the NHL than Kadri? You can't take anything he does seriously.

- Leafs pressing out of the gate, Habs need an insurance goal desperately, because when you're a losing team like the Habs, you'll find a way of losing.

- Whelp, too late. Lupul off a juicy Condon rebound ties the game. That great first period, just a distant memory. Habs on their way towards another loss. You can just feel it coming.

- Habs, to borrow a three year old phase coined by Mike Cammalleri, play like a loser. It's now firmly in their heads, and the deeper that's embedded, the more difficult it is to overcome.

- Desharnais line nearly twice as much ice time as the Eller line, even though possession is night-and-day in comparison between the two. Insane.

- Gallagher a quick blind shot beats Reimer clean, hits far post, then drifts right across on the line. Pretty symbolic for this team this year. Nothing going right, no bounces going their way.

- Habs with a powerplay chance, at least this time Therrien sends out Plekanec line to start the man advantage.

- Atrocious powerplay attempt. Just atrocious. No other way of describing it.

- Habs "earn" at least a point against a pretty awful opponent. An average team would have put the Leafs away in the 2nd period. An average team. This Habs team is not average. It's awful. Defence is dysfunctional, powerplay in an abomination, and the coach continues to make baffling deployment choices. Leads blown, games blown, points blown. There appears to be no bottom for this hockey team.
SECOND PERIOD:

 - Habs and Leafs after 20. It's hard to believe that the Leafs will be worst in the 2nd period. They were really that bad in the 1st:


- Carr thinks he scored on a wraparound, but no replay is conclusive. The NHL could very easily implement goal line technology, but why do something that makes total sense?

- Another bad defensive breakdown, Subban who's struggled tonight, with a poor decision to pinch hard, leaving Markov in the lurk, and because Andrei can't stake any more, the Leafs had free-flight on Condon. Kadri makes it 2-1. Bad teams, like the Habs, do this night in, night out.

- Habs powerplay a terrible mess, no shots, no scoring chances, and Dale Weise gets nailed for 2 minutes at the end. The Canadiens man advantage has been running at an awful 9% success clip since early December, and yet nobody is held accountable.

- Leafs powerplay, they do everything the Habs haven't. Puck to the net, dangerous scoring attempts, bodies around the goal and in the slot. I mean, this isn't really rocket science. And yet, the Habs never figure it out, because nobody is held accountable.

- Habs sitting back much of this period, while the Leafs doing their best to at least keep their head above water. Habs searching for that magical goal #3, of which they've done very few times since the club starting going off a cliff December 3rd.

- Habs defence continues to be awful getting the puck to the forwards. Just passing the pucks up the boards, like they do almost all the time, and the Leafs have adjusted, anticipating the play, and generating zone turnovers, which is in turn generating shots and momentum.

- 2nd period, yup this is the Habs team we've come to know and not love the past two months. Really sloppy in their own zone, breakouts are awful, puck control by the defence just awful, the basics, the fundamentals, are simply not there. This team played like a loser in the 2nd as they have for 8 straight weeks. Leafs, who are totally overmatched, easily win the period, and may very well win the game.
FIRST PERIOD:

- It's not rocket science to say that a productive David Desharnais will make this Habs team imminently more competitive. So it's heartening to see him actually score a goal to give the Habs an early lead.

- Plekanec line buzzing all over this weak Toronto defence, while Babcock matches his troops against the Habs weak 4th line.

- Habs first powerplay is a oh-fer, the same old symptoms. Lots of passing, but no real dangerous shots.

- Habs look like they're going back to last year's offensive template of dump-and-chase. So far it's worked against an overmatched team like the Leafs, beyond this game, however, that's a losing strategy.

- Pretty atrocious period for the Leafs, at least first 11 minutes. Almost no meaningful puck possession, Condon facing virtually no shots.

- Another nothing powerplay. Lots of zone time, lots of passing, but no real threatening scoring chances being generated. It's easy to look pretty, but it means nothing if you can't at least fire challenging shots at opposing goalies.

- Leafs breakouts so far have been atrocious, as in, they haven't had anything resembling one.

- Just rewards for the #Habs, as Fleischmann scores to give the Habs a 2-0 lead. That's something we haven't seen for awhile - Montreal actually finishing while dominating.

- Pretty solid period for the Habs, everyone playing well except for the 4th line (but that's an old story). Subban and Markov again looked a little shaky, I'm not sure what it's going to take to get Therrien to give Andrei a couple of days off. Maybe he's hoping to limp him through to the All-Star break? It's genuine folly.


Graham Hughes, La Presse
YOU'RE LOOKING AT A MAN WHO IS NOT AGING WELL

This weekend I'm writing an article about Marc Bergevin - specically the media conference he held on Thursday, to address the numerous questions revolving around the team in the midst of the worst stretch of hockey in more than 80 franchise years. While Bergevin was straighforward on some questions, he was evasive, even cryptic about others. Regardless, lines have been drawn, and I'll be taking a look at where this team is headed, and the future of Bergevin, in the days ahead.

Meanwhile, we do have a hockey game coming up tonight in Toronto, and it does feature a few lineup changes for the Habs, with some players out of the lineup because of injury. Paul Byron has been sidelined, which significantly reduces the Canadiens' speed at offence. So with him removed, the lineup will look as such:

Line 1: Pacioretty/Plekanec/Gallagher
Line 2: Galchenyuk/Desharnais/Weise
Line 3: Fleischmann/Eller/Carr
Line 4: Flynn/Mitchell/Smith-Pelly

Markov/Subban
Emelin/Petry
Beaulieu/Barberio

I'm not going to get all nit-picky about the same old things, but really, it's the same old thing. Poor line structures. The Desharnais-Galchenyuk combination has been awful, but they still plug along. Andrei Markov, who's desperate for some kind of ice time relief, is again on the #1 line with Subban, while Beaulieu, for reasons that are beyond me, gets demoted to 3rd pairing along with Barberio.

In any case, the Habs are moving forward for the rest of the year with what they've got on, and behind the bench. That much is clear from Bergevin's statement.

Who knows? Perhaps that will have a positive effect in helping the team to rally. Or, it could result in this team going through three more months of dreadful hockey.

In any case, the schedule is finally granting relief to the Habs. From this point forward, the vast majority of their games will be against teams with sub .500 records.

Mike Condon is in net for the Habs. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m., EST.



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