Tonight the Habs played a better game than yesterday against Washington. I know, it’s not a huge statement to make considering Friday’s game but it’s still something positive to work with. Against a surprising (at least to me) Sabres team the Canadiens ended up outplaying a hard working team. But not all was well.
Now what the hell is wrong with Sergei Kostitsyn? He took three fully deserved and entirely unnecessary penalties with the first one leading to Buffalo’s opening goal. Yes, he redeemed himself a little after his second penalty when he screened Patrick Lalime on Steve Begin’s goal but he has to be smarter than that. It’s not like it’s the first time he takes bad penalties like that, he’s already at 30 PIM this season. That’s 5 shot of Kostopoulos who fought twice and got 17 minutes against Toronto for his check from behind. Right now, I hope he’ll be sent back to Hamilton for a couple of games when Tanguay comes back.
I was against Matt D’Agostini playing on the first line as a general concept but then again, why not see how he reacts under pressure right now? We know his stint with the big club is only temporary so giving him a chance to shine is understandable. He was out of position a couple of times, especially in the offensive zone but you can see the kid has talent and will probably be in the lineup to start the next season. I would love to see him a couple of games more playing on different lines to see how he handles third or fourth line duties. Again, send Sergei down for a couple of games. It could do him some good.
His big brother, however, played a much better game. I’ve said recently that Andrei is at his best when he is physical and today he registered 4 hits and scored a somewhat lucky goal. After fanning on a shot attempt he tried a second time and buried the puck. He also was very close to score the third goal of the game when he missed an empty net from a closed angle but Markov ended up scoring less than a minute later from a beautiful play he set up himself with help from Koivu.
Again the captain was working hard and it got me to think about Kovalev. Since the beginning of the season Saku saw his ice time go down significantly compared to last year but it also let him be much more efficient on every shift. Maybe Kovy needs to do the same. Kovalev was sometimes very efficient tonight, especially on some penalty killing missions but he also was trying to deke too many players at some times and that’s something that he does too often. Every player in the NHL knows how good this guy is, one of the best stickhandler in the league, but they also know how much he loves to keep the puck. That’s why he can often do a great set up for his teammates; his opponents don’t expect that. I think AK-27 should pass on every opportunity he can until the NHL start taking notice and start adjusting. Then he will be able to use his deking abilities more and with a better impact.
Carey Price was good and even spectacular in the last minute of the game. Those who doubted the kid ability to be a starter in the toughest city for a goaltender can relax. He is calm, collected and can obviously lead his team to victory if given the chance. Bob Barker would be so proud…
Josh Gorges had a difficult night being somewhat responsible for letting Thomas Vanek score twice. On the first goal, Higgins missed his clearing attempt and Josh took a risk trying to poke the puck away but instead left Vanek alone. He also missed his chance to clear the zone and ended up giving the puck to Buffalo for the second goal. But I have no fears, he’ll be back with a big game on Tuesday.
The last thing I want to touch upon is the 5 on 3 in third period. I was happy for multiple reasons. The first one being that while I am not impressed with the calibre of NHL referees I am at least glad to see that they aren’t afraid of calling two penalties on the same play, something that was nearly unheard of before the lockout. Also, the puck movement was efficient and I prefer Markov as the set up man rather than taking the shot. And since I love Andrei Kostitsyn shot, I was pleased to see him there. Buffalo played very well for the whole two minutes and you have to give them credit for their numerous blocked shots on that particular sequence.
Overall a feel good victory with the Canadiens coming back twice from one goals deficits. Not a dominating performance by any means but at least some good moments and a much better effort than the day before.
Now let’s all pray the Habs don’t fall into the same “not showing up against inferior opponents” pattern that plagued them all season.
You are right BB. Carey Price has certainly quieted his critics (I suspect there’s none left). Montreal is the toughest city to play in for goaltenders.
Gainey won’t expose Sergei to waivers by attempting to send him to Hamilton. He’s far too valuable. He is creative, has speed, has a quick release, is aggressive and is the best passer on the team. He can do things that no one else on the team can do.
If two bad penalties are the criteria to go to Hamilton, Steve Begin would never see the big league ice again. To prove a point, Carbo will likely send Sergei to the press box for Tuesday’s game.
I think that what happened with Sergei again highlights Carbonneau’s lack of experience. Coaches have to know how to motivate players…and each reacts differently. Carbo called out both Kostitsyns yesterday PUBLICLY. Maybe nothing wrong with doing it in private but there are players ‘more deserving’ of Carbo’s attention. Carbonneau seems to take advantage of hammering the Kostitsyns because of their language difficulties.
Sergei plays with passion. Last night you saw what happens when an emotional player is pissed off with his coach.
I didn’t talk about the waiver rule? I swear I did. Man, I spent over an hour trying to understand the rule in the cba.
A player who signed his first contract at 20 year old is exempt from waivers for 3 years or 160 games whichever comes first. Sergei doens’t have to go on waivers. I would NEVER think about the idea if he could. There is no way he would reach Hamilton anyway.
And don’t defend Kostitsyn on bad reactions. Sergei should look at how Koivu took a beating from his friend Craig in the slot on the powerplay while he slahed a player after receiving a hit. I know he was coached by Dale Hunter in junior but still…
And do you remember Sergei from last year? He’s not close to what he did. He was shining next to Koivu and now he can’t even look like he deserve to be there.
I’d be surprised to see him sent to Hamilton but if I had my wish, he would. That’s one of the few players and the only forward who can be sent down to keep D’Agostini up for a week. The only other player who can be sent down without clearing the waiver is Carey Price.
I am NOT suggesting this, just pointing it out.
Well I trust your reading BB, but there seems to be some confusion out there right now about Sergei.
Your interpretation would seem to support McGuire’s contention that Latendresse should have been sent to Hamilton for 20-25 at the start of this season, before he had played 7 games. (I guess that you were holding your breath, BB!) :)
There is no reason to send Sergei to the Bulldogs. He doesn’t need to work on his game. Sending down a guy who plays with passion would just crush his spirit.
Sergei just needs a bit of maturity and how to manage his emotions. You humiliate him like Carbonneau did and you get emotional outbursts (in the form of retaliation penalties) like last night.
I’m not excusing his 2 bad penalties last night. I just think that there’s a better way to dealing with a player like Sergei.
You mentioned SK’s play with Koivu. I that that is a very good point. It seems that Sergei looks to Koivu as a mentor. If managing emotions are a problem, then playing with your mentor could be a way of getting Sergei back on track. Although I like D’Agostini on that line, while Tanguay is out, Carbo should put Sergei with Higgins and Koivu.
Th other option is putting the Kostitsyn brothers with Plekanec. Leaving the penalties aside, Sergei and Andrei actually played very well together last night. Unfortunately Lapierre wasnt a good match for them. And Plekanec, for all his hard work, didn’t deserve his linemates.
By the way BB, did you notice that Sergei Kostitsyn was +2 on Saturday night?
Rocket,
Just to add my two cents in here, sergei’s +2 is a bit deceiving because he was barely out of the penalty box on Begin’s goal….though he did head to the net when Begin took his shot??!!
I also thought you weren’t a big +/- stat guy…….LOL!
Thanks Habster…I think you just made my point for me.
Sergei deserved his +2 rating. Then again, you can’t get a -1 when you are on the penalty bench. He was also deserving of his 6 PIM.
He did a good job screening on Begin’s goal. Actually,if you can check out the goal again, look for Lalime’s reaction to his defencemen. I didn’t hear, obviously, but it looked like “what the hell? You can’t push a small guy like him from my face?”
And I don’t want to send him down for a week because he got 3 penalties and it’s not to refine his game. It’s to have him meet with players who could replace him.
Okay, so maybe it’s a bad idea to send him down but he’s been either invisible or making big mistakes for 10 games already.
And stop blaming Carbo, seriously. The kid has character, probably more than his brother. The decisions he take on the ice are his and his alone. Andrei responded by playing a solid game. Sergei responded by taking some selfish penalties. How is that deserving of replacing Tanguay on the first line, I’m not sure.
If a kid need babysitting that much, maybe Hamilton ain’t that bad an idea…
Comments are closed.