Rocket:
The Blue Jackets got it. The Canadiens didn’t. …goaltending, that is. The loss shouldn’t be pinned 100% on Jaroslav Halak but good goaltending can hide a lot of sins. Tonight, the familiar ones, poor defensive zone coverage and lack of discipline were exposed due to another weak performance by Halak.
Jaro had a difficulty with rebound control most of the night and struggled with positioning…seemingly losing his place relative to the net. Halak’s glove hand has been shaky all season and tonight was no exception.
At the opposite end, Steve Mason, not too far removed from the London Knights and Kitchener Rangers, had the best game of his short NHL career. Mason stopped 34 shots and was perfect in the shootout (although not severely tested by Tanguay and AK-46).
Three of four lines actually played well for the Canadiens. All three Canadien goals came with players parked at the top of the crease. Credit to Higgins, Plekanec, and both Kostitsyns. Tanguay, Koivu and Higgins seem to be the dominant unit right now. They were also left intact for powerplays with the addition of Markov and Lang.
Powerplay was better tonight. All three Canadien goals were scored with an extra man (third goal with Halak on the bench).
The KPK line also played well with Andrei Kostitsyn having his strongest effort since the Phoenix game. AK-46 received his third headshot this season after a vicious elbow by Commodore. (If Bettman is serious about reducing concussions, such blows have to receive more than a two minute minor.)
The 4th line cycled the puck well. Laraque played his best game so far although Dandenault is still an upgrade. Kostopoulos was all over the ice and had 4 shots in the first period alone. As well as they played, the Lapierre line had no business being on the ice with six minutes left in the third period and the Habs down by a goal.
Some ups and downs for the defensive corps. Bouillon and Georges struggled to defend Rick Nash who was a force in front of the net all night. Patrice Brisebois fans had reason to cheer as his point shot found the net on the powerplay. Brise can thank Plekanec and AK-46 who were stationed in front of the net (acting as a screen and perhaps ‘sweepers’ on Breezer’s in-turn). The fan club joy was short-lived as a Brisebois gaffe in his own end left Modin alone for Columbus’ third goal.
Even though RJ Umberger continued his reputation as a Canadiens’ killer, the opposition player to watch was Rick Nash. Can’t wait to see him and Getzlaf play for Team Canada in 2010.
Classy move by Ken Hitchcock and his staff to wear poppies even though the game was in Columbus.
Five of six points so far on the road trip is a measure of success. But discipline and defensive coverage must improve for the Canadiens to be considered one of the top teams in the NHL.
Pre-game:
O’Byrne, Dandenault and Begin will sit out tonight.
La Presse, Quebec’s version of Weekly World News, manufactured a story about the ‘potential sale of the Canadiens’. Yeah..and mutant, alien zombies on page 3.
Rocket’s 3 stars:
1. Steve Mason
2. Andrei Kostitsyn
3. Rick Nash
(photo credit: AP photo)
Hey Rockstar. I’m dropping a line just to congratulate you on a good job. I couldn’t watch the whole game (caught Express but it isn’t as watching live) and I’ll admit that I was thinking about what to say about the game. I was about to talk about Breezer good game (from CHexpress he looked very solid, probably is best this year), about AK-46 work in front on the net on B’s goal. On the dominance of Koivu’s line (but ask the media, we should trade him!) Hell. My only complain was that Halak really looked shaky and some bad penalties.
My point? I can’t argue with you. Now I’m bored.
I hate you…
Great job.
Oh… wait… Plekanec was the guy to blame on the third goal. He knew it. Even Brunet saw it. So I CAN disagree with you again. SWEET!
Take care
You know what? Screw that. I’m not finished talking. Since video blogging is more of a pain in the ass than expected, I’ll talk with you (it’s rare to find someone who really understand hockey anyway)
Watching Price is a treat. His reaction to SK goal was very nice to watch. Not as cool as the helmet swappping with Gorges but still.
Can’t remember his name but the rookie who scored the second goal was gorgeous to watch. Both Habs sucked. ECW style (hardcore, if you’re not a wrestling fan).
Andrei Kostitsyn is impressive. His work on B’s goal was good, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. He hits. He position himself well and plays to help his teammates score. If you have a chance, check out the highlights from canadiens.com, october 15th against Boston. Look at his work in front of the net on Kovalev’s goal. Check out who this was against.
Small note: Brunet and Houde were actually smart enough to realize AK46 and Turtlepleck’s work in front of the net. That’s impressing me.
The “smart” minds of Journal de Montreal are saying that the company making the movie “Canadiens Forever” (could be wrong with the name) would have made an arrangement with the Habs to “ensure Koivu would be resigned since he’s starring in the movie? La Presse is stating that the Habs are for sale now? Who the fuck hires those people? Anybody with half a brain can think long enough (23 seconds) to realize how dumb those statements are.
Mason impressed me. Halak is starting to realize what it is to goal for a team everybody prepares hard to face. Welcome to the real world Jaro, now go sit next to Theo and Garon.
That’s all I can think of right now. Expect to hear from me soon.
Thanks JF! I like the new nickname. We’ll have to come up with a cool one for you. Reading the words ‘I hate you’ put a huge smile on my face.
Yep, shaky goaltending a bad penalties were to blame tonight. Carbo said that the five second period penalties really hurt the teams’ momentum. The Habs had a good first period outshooting the Jackets 19 to 8. Poor discipline turned the game around.
I understand that Modin’s goal looked like Plek’s fault. But if Brisebois doesn’t chase a Blue Jacket player to the mid-boards, then Hamrlik isn’t out of position by moving to the right point and Modin isn’t left alone. Credit Plekanec for recognizing the breakdown and almost getting to Modin. Brise isn’t mobile enough to be on the ice for a 4 on 4 situation.
I should say that I wasn’t impressed with Hamrlik’s casual effort on the first goal either. And the huge rebound by Halak on Chimera’s initial shot was awful.
Marc Methot scored the Jackets 2nd goal. He is another former London Knight. Methot is known for having a hard shot but it was a puck that Halak should have stopped.
I liked Mason too. I still maintain that if he wasn’t injured, the Kitchener Rangers would have won the Memorial Cup.
I noticed Price on the tying goal too. Halak had just reached the bench when the goal was scored. Price slapped him on the head as part of the celebration, and then seemed to give him a small shove back out the gate. It was like Price was silently saying “now go stop some pucks!” (or maybe that was what I was saying)
You are right about AK-46. He was one of the best Habs forwards prior to the Phoenix game. He is playing with more of an ‘edge’ this season. Glad to see he’s getting it back after the injury.
To a lesser extent SK-74 is playing better too without the burden of his brother’s injury on his mind.
I hate how Koivu is treated by some of the media. Its not deserved.
Sorry, I meant second shootout goal. The slow 7 moves the kid put on Halak. I verified and his name is Derrick Brassard. It’s one thing to deke a guy at full speed. Most NHLers can do it. To deke like that barely having any forward momentum is a different beast.
And I checked back to the goal. I’ll say joint mistake. Yeah, breezer could have stayed deeper but if he put pressure on the puck carrier, it’s the center’s job to cover. In any case, it’s hardly worthy of the label mistake is you compare it to Halak’s gift on the second goal.
Price is showing us that he is having fun. Yeah, he want to win. Probably as bad as Roy used to. But he has a different approach to it. And yeah, I saw the same thing in that shove.
Nothing wrong with rotation when forcing the puck carrier while playing the box. Two things though..all four players must be mobile and they cant chase or get too spread out.
Yeah..that was Derick Brassard on the 2nd shootout goal. I know why you like him JF…cause he’s Latendresse’s old linemate in the Q! Brassard was rookie of the month for October and leads all rookies in points.
Brassard did play well tonight too. He’s not especially quick but has good hands. I noticed that he slowed to a crawl with all the moves and was surprised that he was still able to deke Halak. Not sure whether to credit Brassard or blame Halak or both.
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