Montreal 5 Edmonton 4 SO (Bell Centre)
This was supposed to be easy. 1:20 into the game it looked like it was going to be very easy. Thomas Plekanec scored his 20th goal of the season on a breakaway after two perfect passes from Andrei Kostitsyn and Andrei Markov.
With the 30th place team in the league visiting, this was the type of game that Bell Centre fans expected. Cue the rout!
But wait a minute. 1:02 (to be precise) after the Canadiens goal, Robert Nilsson scored for Edmonton with Glen Metropolit failing to backcheck. The shot seemed to surprise Jaroslav Halak. It was a soft goal to be sure, and not the last one of the night.
Just over a minute later, on the power-play, Sam Gagner popped another one in over Halak’s shoulder, and the Oilers led 2-to-1. The game was not even four minutes old and Edmonton had scored two goals on three shots. Halak was deep in the net and down early on both.
Brian Gionta tied the score halfway through the first. A sloppily-played period ended with the teams tied 2-to-2.
The Canadiens would take the lead twice more in regulation time only to have the Oilers tie it up on two more weak goals.
At times this game resembled the Bizarro World.
Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk had a record of 0-7-1 coming into the game, but it was Halak who looked like he hadn’t won a game this season.
Similarly, the second ranked Canadiens’ power-play couldn’t dent the Oilers number 28 ranked penalty killing unit on seven opportunities, including 4-on-3 and 5-on-3 chances. Yet, Edmonton notched a power-play goal on only three opportunities.
The Habs spread the scoring through the lineup with eight different players getting points. Sergei Kostitsyn and Andrei Markov each had two points. The younger Kostitsyn had a very strong game and was named the night’s first star.
Andrei Kostitsyn scored the winner with the only goal in the shootout. Halak stopped all five shots he faced.
“I was pretty confident going into the shootout but it’s all about luck, I think, in the shootout,” Halak said. “It’s 50-50 percent to the guy scoring or me stopping the puck. Lucky for us we scored the goal and [Sam Gagner] mishandled the last one.”
Coach Jacques Martin gave credit to the skaters saying, “The team found a way to win despite Halak letting in some soft goals.”
More bizarre behaviour continued after the game.
Halak’s agent Alan Walsh was first out of the gate, “The mark of a great goalie is being able to comeback after letting in a few goals you’d like back and shutting the door the rest of the way.”
“Shutting the door” included a combination of saves, posts, and erratic shooting by the Oilers.
Conor McKenna from the Team 990 said, “Jaro Halak is 15 of 16 in shootouts this year…unreal.” McKenna explained Halak’s poor performance for the three periods plus overtime by saying “He’s not at his best unless he sees [more than] 35 shots.”
The first few comments to Montreal sports talk radio were to shred Carey Price despite Halak having one of his worst games of the year, and Price sitting on a stool as the backup.
“Give Halak credit, he did a great job. Face it, he won the game,” said one delusional caller. Even those who hadn’t seen the game were ready to advocate for Halak starting on Saturday night against Boston.
This advice flies in the face of Halak’s rough outing and ignores Price’s record vs the Bruins which is 3-0-0 with a 0.97 goals against average and a .971 save percentage.
This game was also one of the most obvious examples of why ‘win and you’re in’ is not a reliable strategy.
While some would prefer there wasn’t a goalie controversy, it is obvious which side is perpetuating it. It is also clear that a double standard is rampant among fans and media alike for evaluating the play of the two young goaltenders.
The Canadiens move into a sixth place tie with the Philadelphia Flyers with 74 points, although the Flyers have three games in hand.
Rocket’s three stars
1. Sergei Kostitsyn
2. Shawn Horcoff
3. Andrei Markov
special mention: Tomas Plekanec, Ryan O’Byrne, Andrei Kostitsyn
Player quotes from wire services were used in this report.
(photo credit: CP)
Some Hab fans just are never happy unless they have something to complain about. Why can`t you just be happy that Montreal won rather then use the occasion to put down one of our 2 young goalies? Halak did the best he could and did win the game after all. Your no better then the Halak fans who call Price no good when he has a bad game which is more often then Halak you must admit.
You seem to have a unhealthy hate on for Halak and you really should see someone about it, it may cause you health issues later in life.
On the bright side (if we want to look for one), the Habs won a game where the goaltending was horrid and the only thing uglier may have been the powerplay which went 0-for-a-million, or so it felt.
I think Martin's comments after the game mean one thing: Price is in for next game, and he'd be justified in making the switch. The 3-0 record vs the Bruins plus Halak's shakiness would be plenty of evidence to support a switch.
I've said at this point that Martin should go with "win and you're in", but I should have made myself more clear, because any blanket statement (at least in my world) has limits. Halak looked tired and like he was fighting the puck all night. Perhaps he didn't get his chocolate milk (I bought it all…seriously) in the morning. But to me, with points at a premium now, win and in applies in so far as the winning goalie looks good and fresh. Halak was neither, so pending Saturday's results, Price is the man now.
As for McKenna's comments…oops! 15/16 IS a crazy number, but anyone who's watched the shootouts knows that the number could easily be 11 or 12 of 16. Halak has had some pucks hit posts and be fumbled en route to attaining that record.
But while I'm trying to look for positives, the reality is that there were not many. Once again the Canadiens failed to execute vs an extremely weak team, and failed to capitalize on a night where Kerry Fraser seemed to be a Habs fan.
Let's hope that a big game against a fierce rival on a Saturday night wakes them up and prompts a solid effort. Until then, we can enjoy the lofty heights of 5 games over .500 and the rarified air of 6th place (as tenuous a hold as they have on that spot)!
I prefer the term "storm trooper aim". It's a very big no-no to make the first move in the shootout and he did it on every shot. Worst poke-check ever… They got the win, but this wasn't the Washington Capitals here, yet the Habs sure tried hard to make the Oilers look like them.
Sergei looked so sad… As the powerplay went 0-for-nothing (and the officiating was pretty fair for a change) Martin still refused to put the kid on the point even though his hussle drew penalties. If Martin's worried about shorties, that's moot because Hamr's been the guy more guilty of allowing those. Too much waiting to shoot. Pass pass pass pass look around pass wiffer shot. Hamr looked like he was using a two-by-four up there!
Oh yea, I wrote a letter of complaint to the Bell Centre about the blackface guys. I also remembered after the game my brother pointed them out before, so this isn't the first time they've done this!
Not really what Rocket was talking about, Anonymous… Exactly what is the point of calling in to rip the goalie that isn't playing a mere 2 seconds after the game ended? And with the events that happened after (trolls, stupid agent, media completely twisting around what was a rather average performance into "solid") he's merely blogging his opinion on why people are out of their minds concerning the goalies we got. Seems people just bash him 'cause it's the cool thing to do whether relevant to the game or not, like bashing Crosby.
Well said, Number31.
Anon, the truth is I like both goalies. But, full disclosure, I have no patience for idiotic agents, delusional 'fans', and agenda-driven media.
You need not worry about my health. They don't interrupt a second of my sleep.
Very good points kyleroussel. After a few wins in a row, some were once again raising expectations above reasonable, especially as they anticipated the return of Cammalleri and Bergeron.
The game against the Oilers reminded us that the Canadiens are still a team on a rollercoaster and likely will be until the end of the season.
You're right Number 31. "Storm trooper aim" says it all about the Oilers in the 3rd period and shootout.
And the reality is that due to the shaky goaltending, it only took one of those shots hitting the net to end it.
A team that had only won 8 road games was handed a chance they probably didn't deserve.
With respect to the power-play, it is amazing to see coach Martin be so patient/stubborn deploying Hamrlik and Spacek at the point when it hasn't worked all season.
Yet, Martin's patience is so remarkably short when putting Sergei Kostitsyn in a new situation. One can can only conclude that Martin isn't capable of being objective when it comes to Sergei's play.
One more thing Number31,
You deserve credit for your letter to the Bell Centre. I don't intend to give the two idiots any more attention than they have already received by discussing the issue here.
I think that it is extremely hypocritical of the other Habs site to criticize RDS for showing the guys on the air, and then posting their photo to drive traffic to their website. I'm very disappointed in the way HIO has chosen to handle the issue.
Rocket, can you explain how the AHL clear day rosters work and why Stewart ended up in Chicago. Even with Maxwell and Pyatt comming back to Hamilton it makes no sense. Hamilton dressed 8 defenseman tonight, just don't get the logic behind adding another defensman and subtracting a valuable role guy like Stewart.
As for the Edmonton game, glad to see the team pull out a victory with subpar goaltending for once. I commented on the Anaheim blog as the second Anon. (was my first post). I'm also puzzled as to why SK74 gets no PP time.
By the way what's with all the people on various forums and blogs bashing Markovs play of late? Although defensively he hasn't been perfect, overall I thought the last few games have him finally looking like himself. 6 points, +8 in his last 4 games…. What's wrong with that?
It's hilarious to me to see fans (and some members of the media) beginning to raise the expectation level of the team. They've not even made the playoffs yet, and already there's talk about whether Pittsburgh or Washington would be the better first round match up, and in the same breath, people are saying that the Habs WILL upset someone. I suppose it could happen, but I don't think anyone in their right mind seriously thinks the Canadiens are good enough to beat either team. Choosing the Habs at this point would only be done out of loyalty, or because they found a good odds and may receive a nice payout!
As for the "Subbanator" lunkheads…if anyone listened to the Team yesterday, they called in during Marinaro's show to explain and exonerate themselves. They showed an incredible lack of good judgement and common sense. While they *sounded* like they were genuine, I wonder what world they've been living to think this would have been ok. I was at Ye Olde to take in the game and with all the noise and distractions, when they were shown on-screen, I could not read what was on their shirt, or figure out what they were trying to do. When I found out the next morning, I was stunned.
At this point I'm wondering what SK74 did to Jacques Martin. It's obvious that they got off on the wrong foot, with SK missing team buses during camp, and being a whipping boy in early season practices, but for Martin to seemingly hold this grudge is infantile. If he doesn't like this kid, that's one thing. It's another thing entirely to screw your team out of an opportunity to find new weapons just to spite SK and save face.
@Mark_ov_The_Beast I won't touch the AHL player issue because I have no idea, but I'll give you a breakdown of Markov's year, to me it becomes pretty easy to see why some people were concerned with his play:
Dec 19-31: 7GP, 3G, 8A, 11pts, +5
He had a wonderful return to action and helped spark the Habs over the holidays.
Jan 3-Mar 4: 20GP, 0G, 8A, 8pts, -3
While the team rode the rollercoaster with ups and downs, Markov was mostly down, and looked bad in doing it. He did not look fully recovered, and was caught flat footed many times defensively.
Mar 6-11: 4GP, 1G, 5A, 6pts, +8.
This is the guy we know and love and NEED. Not coincidentally, the Habs are 4-0 over these last 4 games.
It's also worth noting that in no game this year (except for the season opener) that he has not played less than 20 minutes in a game. While his overall numbers are in line with what we expect from him, he's had some dramatic ups and downs. And when you are considered to be the team's best and most valuable player, the finger will be pointed at you when times are tough.
The good news is that for the past week, he's looked much, much better and though I wish he would stop pinching in overtime (I can recall 3 overtime games this year where his pinching in OT helped contribute to a breakaway for the other team). That's a matter of philosophy, I suppose, since once you get to OT the conventional wisdom is to just go for it. I just wish he would find a happy medium between pinching behind the net and leaving his post.
In my view, all seems to be well in Markovland, but it was not that way for a good while.
Markov the Beast: Glad to see that you have moved beyond the cloak of Anon. Your comments are welcome anytime.
Kyleroussel has provided an excellent summary of Markov's year. I, too, am dismayed by some of the negative comments about Markov that I've read.
It's clear that the Canadiens will be trying to clear cap space in the offseason. It surprises me that some are suggesting that Markov should be on the way out even above players like Hamrlik.
There have been times this season that Markov hasn't been himself. But he is still the Canadiens' best player and biggest bargain.
On another issue, I'm happy to tackle your question about Clear Day, but I will defer to our resident AHL expert, EP31.
Sorry I'm late…!
Mark_ov_The_Beast – Roster Clear Day is is basically like a trade deadline day for the AHL. Teams have to name 22 players to their roster and these 22 players are the only ones allowed to play for them for the remainder of the season + playoffs.
Teams are allowed to name several players to what they call "residence". These players are only allowed to play if a combined number of three players on the Clear Day roster are out due to call-ups, suspension or injuries.
As for Stewart… he has been loaned by the Canadiens to the Chicago Wolves, while the Thrashers have loaned Mike Vernace to Hamilton. Both players' rights still belong to their respective NHL teams. This move helps both AHL teams however. Hamilton has been short on defensemen throughout the year (thanks to injuries and call-ups) so this move helps add a little depth to their blueline. And Chicago gets to add needed depth up front with the acquisition Stewart.
Hope that helps =)
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