Rocket:
Is Jaroslav Halak searching for the puck? ..praying to the heavens? ..or perhaps wishing for some defensive help from the press box?
For all the Patrice Brisebois fans out there, I suggest that you avert your eyes for a paragraph or two. But after tonight’s horrific effort, I expect that there aren’t any left…at least not any fans that can make a serious and credible argument for keeping him on the Canadiens roster.
Brisebois’ play was simply dreadful..in all zones..in all aspects of the game. On the first Ducks goal, Brisebois was not in position to take the shooter nor block the pass. He was caught flat-footed, reached out with his stick, and provided the perfect screen for Huskins shot to beat Halak. On the second Anaheim goal (on his very next shift) Brisebois was again out of position and could only do a body slide past Perry as he made a nice pass to Getzlaf. It continued like this in the defensive zone on most every shift. Brise getting caught and giving the Ducks 2 on 1 chances. Brise taking a penalty after getting beat. Randy Carlisle is rigid about line-matching. It tells you something when he took every opportunity to send the Getzlaf line over the boards when he saw #71 on the ice. Brise wasn’t any better in the offensive zone mishandling the puck and making errant passes. Full disclosure: a change-up put him on the scoresheet with an assist but that is only a footnote to his minor league play.
Was Brisebois the only Canadiens player to make mistakes tonight? No. But #71 was a danger to his own team on almost every shift. Would the Canadiens have won the game if Ryan O’Byrne was in the lineup? Maybe.
As predicted in the discussion leading up to the game, the Canadiens had no answer for the Getzlaf line. O’Byrne could have provided an intimidating physical presence in front of the Habs net. Full credit to Frankie Bouillon for squaring off with Corey Perry (and leading the team in hits) but the Habs needed someone to clear opponents in front rather than fisticuffs. Gorges and Bouillon were being hit hard by Getzlaf, Perry and Kunitz when they weren’t feasting on #71. Andrei Markov was a -2 on the night.
Let there be no confusion that the pre-game decisions were made by the coach, not the players, and the accountability for tonight’s outcome should rest with the coach.
I didn’t see much difference in the way that Jaro Halak played tonight (other than the outcome). He can’t be blamed for the first two goals. The next two perhaps were a little soft. But Jaro continues to be shaky with his glove hand on high shots. The difference is that in his first two games his posts were kind to him and Halak was facing inferior teams.
It was tough for Carey Price to enter the game in a relief capacity after losing a few pounds with the flu. He didn’t have much chance on the two goals he allowed….the rolling puck backhand by Moen nor the Selanne powerplay goal.
As Carbonneau said after the game, when you get 51 shots, the team is doing some things right. Despite the defensive blunders, the Canadiens did play well enough to come back in this game. Saku Koivu continues to be the most consistent forward at both ends of the ice. Koivu rekindled the strong chemistry with Chris Higgins who played very well. He was good on the boards, a fixture in front of the Anaheim net and was responsible in his own zone. Alex Tanguay had another good game with 2 goals. One of Tanguay’s goals was set up via a terrific pass by Alex Kovalev.
The Canadiens #1 line is still creating plenty of chances but not able to capitalize. Tomas Plekanec, alone, had 13 shots on goal. Believe it or not, Tom Kostopoulos was next on the team with 6 shots and a workman-like goal. On the Kosto goal, Gorges made a nice play to bring the puck to the net. It seemed that Giguere was fighting the puck at times giving up huge rebounds but the Canadiens couldn’t take advantage. They seemed unaccustomed to playing from behind.
As far as the players from the visiting team that stood out, I think its obvious that it was the line of Perry, Getzlaf and Kunitz on this night.
Some will blame defensive errors or substandard goaltending for tonight’s loss. They are valid contributors but it all starts with icing your strongest line-up against a very good opponent. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen tonight.
Pre-game:
A really good piece by Elliotte Friedman on the under appreciated Saku Koivu: a terrific player, captain and family man. He has also been very generous with his time and money to the fans and community.
Halak – in. Price – backup; recovered from flu Andrei K – concussion Dandenault & O’Byrne – scratch. Higgins, Begin, Laraque – in
Rocket’s 3 stars:
1. Corey Perry
2. Ryan Getzlaf
3. Alex Tanguay
(photo credit: AP photo)