Montreal 2 New York Rangers 6 (Madison Square Gardens)
After 20 minutes, the Canadiens went to the dressing room with a 2-0 lead, having played one of their best road periods in recent memory. Sure, there was the road winning streak before Christmas, but those games were against the NHL’s bottom feeders. Tonight’s game was against a team that the Habs were competing with for a playoff spot.
The Canadiens controlled the first period with goals from Mike Cammalleri and a power-play marker from Brian Gionta. While the shot clock read nine for the Rangers, none were difficult saves for Jaroslav Halak who had an easy period. The Canadiens did a very good job in their own zone.
Perhaps it shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise. The Rangers had scored only one goal in their past three games. But all that changed. Somehow, during the intermission, New York rediscovered their scoring touch, and the Canadiens forgot all the good things they had been doing in the first period.
“It’s just one of those things where it wasn’t our night,” said Scott Gomez. “They beat us to everything in the second.”
The Canadiens were outshot 15-to-2 in the second period and allowed three New York goals. The backbreaker was a short-handed goal midway through the period.
On a 4-on-3 power-play, Tomas Plekanec cleanly won the faceoff back to the point. The puck went past Marc-Andre Bergeron and was picked up by Ryan Callahan who skated the length of the ice for a shot on Halak with Markov chasing him down. Bergeron didn’t bother to take the trailer, Brandon Dubinsky, who scored on the rebound.
So, the Rangers, a team who had only managed five goals in the previous five games combined, scored six unanswered goals in the final two periods tonight. And the Habs, who had a strong first period, collapsed.
“We played a strong very period and then we gave it away,” coach Jacques Martin said. “We had turnovers and a bad play selection. I think it’s a matter of us playing the type of hockey we are capable of.”
How does that happen? Some say that the Canadiens don’t have the talent. But, its then hard to explain why the team can play so well at times. Certainly, the passive system that the Habs use has to be one factor. They do not dictate the pace of the game, at least not for a full 60 minutes.
Also, this seems to be a team with fragile confidence. When things begin to go badly, there isn’t the leadership to turn momentum around. While coach Martin called a timeout in the second, it did nothing to rally his team.
And when the Rangers started to take liberties with Andrei Markov and Tomas Plekanec, it was Josh Gorges and Benoit Pouliot who stepped in to fight and protect their teammates. Georges Laraque played just over three minutes in the entire game. Laraque is not the deterrent that some would have you believe.
Jaroslav Halak didn’t play his best game and gave up a few soft goals but wasn’t at fault for the loss.
The Canadiens played a sloppy game against Dallas but won anyway. Against Ottawa and New York, their mistakes cost them. And instead of their power-play bailing them out, it has contributed to the problem with short-handed goals against in two consecutive games.
The Habs lost two games they needed to win. Its too early to know, but this weekend could prove very costly to the Canadiens’ playoff chances.
Rocket’s three stars
1. Ryan Callahan
2. Brandon Dubinsky
3. Marion Gaborik
Material from wire services was used in this report.
(photo credit: Getty)
I'm reminded of Jim Mora's famous "playoffs?" rant after a weekend like this. I'm also reminded of Habs teams of seasons past, who would collapse at the first sign of adversity. Sure, some Habs teams made remarkable comebacks, including an unforgettable one against the Rangers just a couple seasons ago.
It must be said at this point that the Canadiens are a better team on paper than on the ice. What is there left to be said? What excuses can we concoct now? Injuries should no longer be the issue. Yes, the Kostitsyn bros' absence makes a difference, but their absence does not explain the Habs defensive woes, lack of effort and general inability to answer the bell in important games. So let's not even pretend that this is what's ailing the team. I don't know about other Habs supporters, but I've heard just about enough of "they wanted it more than us", "we weren't prepared to play 60 minutes", and "we got away from our system".
We convinced ourselves that once Markov returned, this team would improve, and we had some reason to believe that. So now that he has been back for nearly a month, the team is not really any better. The Canadiens are 8-6 with him back in the lineup, with the majority of the wins coming against bottom feeders. And many of those games were won on not much else but goaltending heroics. In fact, over the past few games, Markov has not even been a shadow of himself. He was -5 this weekend, which sort of says it all if you ask me.
I'm quite certain that the team knew the significance of this weekend's games. 2 wins would have done wonders. Instead, we got 2 no-shows, aside from 1 period in each game. I wouldn't be surprised if the sum of turnovers for the 2 games surpassed 50. That's not acceptable or excusable.
So where does this leave us? The trade deadline approaches but before that, a tough month of February awaits prior to the Olympic break. Are we foolish enough to believe that the Canadiens ought to be buyers? For what? Who and what would we have to give up to get that one rental player who *may* help us sneak in to the 8th spot, only to be bounced by one of the Conference's real powers?
The Canadiens have 6 more games in January, and with the exception of Friday's game in New Jersey, they are all winnable games. The track record says that they'll probably win a couple and lose a couple, which only perpetuates the cycle of mediocrity. I hope they either go 5-1 or 1-5. Either one would probably cement the team's direction for the rest of the year.
As I mentioned to Rocket on Twitter last night…. I'm very sick of the stupid "they wanted it more than us" phrase. It's a very crappy excuse. The other team "wanting it more" has zero to do with why the Habs can't play defense on most nights. There is no excuse for the other team "wanting it more". Especially not when the last two games were really crucial…..
Guh… At least Gorges pounding Avery was mildly entertaining….
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