Montreal 6 Atlanta 3 (Bell Centre)
posted by Rocket
AllHabs.blogspot.com
After the Saturday night game against the Leafs, I wrote that the Canadiens needed one convincing win to get back on track. Ask and you shall receive.
Give credit to a team who was under maximum pressure to win tonight. Give credit to a coach who pushed all the right buttons and made all the right decisions (well, almost all).
Bob Gainey challenged the veterans on the team to come through…and they did. Gainey gave the start to the goaltender who has experience playing in the big games..and Carey Price shone. Gainey’s line new combinations were also very effective. Unlike his predecessor, Gainey didn’t call for the trap after the Canadiens went up by a goal.
The line of Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev and Alex Tanguay ended the game with eleven points. Tanguay, had two goals and three assists. Koivu had a goal and two assists and did some tough work in the front of the Thrasher goal. Kovalev scored two power-play goals and also added an assist.
Glen Metropolit, Chris Higgins and Mathieu Dandenault were asked to play a shutdown role against Ilya Kovalchuk. All three played very well, and even added a goal. Chris Higgins played one of his best games in a long time. All three were particularly effective in their penalty killing roles. Metropolit’s only flaw was a terrible night on faceoffs.
Sergei Kostitsyn was on fire tonight. He was very quick and aggressive on the forecheck. Sergei pressured Thrasher goalie Kari Lehtonen into taking a penalty for clearing the puck over the glass.
Carey Price played a solid game. He was spectacular and kept his team in the game in the first period when the Habs were outshot 10-to-4.
Andrei Markov had terrific game with three assists (a stingy scorer prevented him from adding another) and four blocked shots.
Mike Komisarek had a “Mike Komisarek game”: six hits and three blocked shots . Komisarek also came to the aid of Price when Bryan Little ran Price and then tackled him.
Mathieu Schneider had one assist but played much better as he was only called upon for just over 17 minutes of icetime.
Josh Gorges has really struggled of late but he was much better in this game. Gorges had two blocked shots including one that caused him to miss some of the game.
Patrice Brisebois made a number of giveaways and mistakes, and was partly responsible for two of the three Atlanta goals. Expect Ryan O’Byrne back in the line-up on Thursday.
The Canadiens losses added up when their special teams were struggling. Tonight, the power-play went 3-for-6 and the penalty killers killed off 5-of-6 Atlanta opportunities.
The Habs should enjoy their win but this game was not all rosy. Superb play by Price was required when the team was being outplayed in the first. The Canadiens scored six goals on their first sixteen shots. That isn’t going to happen every night. After all, their opponents were the Atlanta Thrashers.
This was a game to build upon but still not the sixty minute effort that Gainey was hoping for from his team. The coach now has to days for further adjustments to prepare for the arrival of the Lightning on Thursday.
Pre-game
Starting lineup: Metropolit, Higgins, Dandenault, Markov, Komisarek
Carey Price and Kari Lehtonen started in goal.
O’Byrne, Laraque, Stewart, and D’Agostini were scratched from the line-up. Bouillon and Lang were out with injuries.
Lines:
Plekanec-Andrei Kostitsyn-Sergei Kostitsyn
Koivu-Kovalev-Tanguay
Lapierre-Latendresse-Kostopoulos
Metropolit-Higgins-Dandenault
Rocket’s three stars:
1. Alex Tanguay
2. Carey Price
3. Saku Koivu
3. Alex Kovalev
3. Chris Higgins
3. Andrei Markov
(photo credit: AP)
I was at last night’s game with great seats…I’m taking credit for the win! ;)
All joking aside, they did what they had to do under strenuous circumstances. Gainey may be starting to figure this out.
He struck gold with the Lapierre/Latendresse/Kostopoulos line. He now seems to have pushed the right button and found a #1 line (for the time being) in Koivu/Kovalev/Tanguay. Now he’s got to get a second line going. Once he does that, things will be looking up.
Where I disagree with your assessment of the game is with regards to Price and the Kostitsyn bros.
I thought Price was average at best, though his big glove save on Kovalchuk helped turn the tide of the game. I found he was soft on the 2nd and 3rd goal and should have stopped at least Atlanta’s 3rd goal. Kovalchuk is one of the league’s best and can fire through a brick wall, so I can be talked in to thinking that was a goalie getting beat by an elite sniper.
As for the Kostitsyn’s, I thought Andrei was M.I.A. for the whole night. Sergei did draw that penalty and was fairly tenacious on the forecheck, but didn’t get much done otherwise.
I thought the defense played their best defensive game recently, led by Markov and Komisarek. I thought they both excelled where they’re expected to produce. If Komi can get his game back on track, this unit can be solid again.
Here’s hoping they can keep it going through to the rest of the season.
Shutting down Lecavalier and St.Louis is prime directive for Thursday, which is far easier said than done for 2 Québecers who love coming home and performing for friends and family.
A. Kostitsyn has a grand total of 2 points and is a -5 over the past month (14 games). For a guy who is paid to produce offense and does little else, that is not acceptable.
CBJ goalie Steve Mason (a third round draft pick) has followed in the footsteps of Carey Price and outperformed him at each level over the past couple of seasons, (CHL, WJC, AHL, NHL), but gets hardly any publicity. Key difference is that Mason has yet to crack under pressure (although in fairness the pressure is considerably less in Columbus), while Price has broken down various times at different levels.
Hey Kyle..
Thanks for the comments! We have to stop agreeing or there will be nothing to debate. :)
I think that Gainey has made a good assessment of the team and what needs to be done. But there is so little time and he was left with so many problems to address.
Komisarek really up’ed his game last night. If he is playing in pain, that was quite courageous. Putting O’Byrne back in the lineup will help Komo and Hamrlik. Schneider is better playing limited minutes and PP. Gorges was better too.
There seems to be some confusion. My positive comments were restricted to Sergei Kostitsyn. He really had jump in his game whether it was on the forecheck, starting a rush or when outskated the ATL ‘D’ and went in alone on Lehtonen.
I’ll be willing to concede that you were the Habs good luck charm in the stands last night, if you will take another look at the play of Carey Price.
For all of our celebrating today, the Canadiens didn’t have a good first period. They were outshot 10-4 and most of those shots were tough saves. If Price doesn’t play superbly in the first period and carry his team until they woke up, then we are all mourning the season today.
From the beginning of the game when Brisebois assumed that there would be an icing and gave up the puck. Price had to make a great save. He then went on to make several big saves in the first from the slot shots on Kovalchuk, Bogosian, etc
The Kovalchuk goal was stoppable but Price more than made up for it with the game changing glove save on Kovalchuk when the score was 3-2.
I agree about your forecast for Thursday’s game.
Well rob,
I suppose I have to give you some credit that you used Andrei Kostitsyn's name in a sentence without referring to his looks and IQ. Maybe there is some hope.
I won't get into debating Mason & Price because I think that they are both excellent young goaltenders.
I will say this. It is factually incorrect to say that Price has faltered at various levels. And I think it is ridiculous to compare their situations. Price's struggles have been about confidence that resulted from coaching & media pressure. As you acknowledge, Mason hasn't experienced anything close in the anonymity and nonexistent expectations of Columbus. And the biggest difference is that Mason is fortunate to work with a far superior coach.
I’m willing to bet that given a choice between Price and Mason at this point in time, more than half of the league’s G.M.s would go with Mason. Price came apart a couple of times in the WHL playoffs prior to turning pro. Mason seems to have been very consistent at every level he has played. His rookie NHL season is superior to Price’s a year ago, and I don’t think he has comparable talent around him. Just so no one get’s carried away with Timmin’s “genius” in drafting Price fifth overall in 2005. I curse Timmins, I think he set the team back 5 years with the first two picks he made back in 2003. Look at some of the talent that they left on the board in place of those two stiffs.
There still is no comparison given the environment that Price must endure in Montreal and the lack of an experienced coach.
You can speculate all you wish but one thing that is for certain: 0% of NHL GMs would agree with your characterization of Price as a stiff.
I never called Price a “stiff”, unless he was taken in the 2003 draft. You’re such a stickler, for “reading the post carefully”, you need to follow your own advice.
Silly me. Your comment concerned Carey Price so I assumed that you would make a relevant reference to the 2005 draft.
I will be more careful to notice next time that your examples have absolutely nothing to do with the point of your argument.
“Silly you” wasn’t exactly the phrase that sprung to mind for me, but the “point of my argument” was that Timmins FAILED HORRIBLY with the very first two picks he made as head scout for Les Canadiens. The stiffs I refer to are A. Kostitsyn and Cory Urquhart, who were taken ahead of the likes of Jeff Carter, Ryan Getzlaf, Mike Richards, Zach Parise, Ryan Kesler, Shea Weber, Patrice Bergeron, etc., etc. Plug any one, (and preferably two) of those players into the Hab lineup at present and we wouldn’t be having these arguments.
The same can be said of Timmin’s top picks throughout his tenure with the Habs EXCEPT FOR CAREY PRICE who was something of a gift from the gods when they landed the 5th overall pick in the lottery. Take away that bit of luck and Wee Trevor’s legacy would be gruesome.
My French isn’t too great, but from what I can discern from comments on Mathias Brunet’s blog recently, the light is starting to shine on Timmin’s incompetence. It will only get worse as time passes and his later picks are subject to the same scrutiny as his first efforts.
Drafting young talent is not an exact science. Yet the consensus is that Gainey & Timmins has done an excellent job of restocking a very depleted Canadiens system.
In comparison, pro-scouting should be a much easier task. Yet, by all accounts it has been a dismal failure. If someone more competent than Pierre Gauthier was running the department, maybe "we wouldn't be having these arguments."
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