Hurricane preparedness plan: Habs vs Carolina 12/23/2010

Must!

Win!

Jacques Martin did not go ape-feces after the Habs’ loss in Dallas.  In fact, he let the guys go out for dinner and a few beers,  and cancelled a practise in Dallas the morning after this disheartening stinky face-wash by the Stars.

Ok, perhaps the acerbic big-eared coach has been delving into his (very brief) psychology manual in order to let all of this sink in and reinforce team spirit in a mellower setting than the hostile rinks of American teams.  It’s x-mas time: anything is possible, festivus miracles and all that.

Be that as it may, tonight’s game is eminently winnable, and I for one am looking forward to some of the veterans getting onto our coach’s radar.  It seems that the young’uns get the brunt of his telegraphic displeasure, while our veteran friends Spacek, Halpern and Hamrlik blunder away with no call-outs. Let us not forget that we have two young, developing players (PK and Carey) trying to fill the immense void left by Markov’s absence.  They cannot succeed without better support from the more experienced players.

A great article about PK Subban and the many perceptions of his talents and responsibilities:

 Donnons (encore) du temps à Subban

More later…..

The slump is upon us

Five losses in the last 6 games.

If it weren’t for the fact that our Habs are in a division that is woefully underperforming so far, they would risk falling out of a playoff spot within the next couple of games.

While recent losses must be attributed in part to a schedule that has included some strong teams, it is clear that some problems are cropping up with our boys.  We can perhaps blame some of their lethargy on the long-term absence of Markov finally being felt (notably on the PP).  Yet there is more.

Scoring chances are few.  Goaltending is spotty and Carey seems distracted, unable to make the spectacular lateral movements that were keeping his team in the mix earlier this season.  His positioning and anticipation have suffered, and his defencemen are playing nervously.

Most telling perhaps, is the fact that the Habs seem unable to come back from even a one-goal deficit.  Habs are 17-3-2 when they score the first goal.  But when they have allowed that first goal, they’ve only won twice in the last 11 games.  They have yet to win a game after trailing in the first.  Such stats tell us that the first goal looms way too large both on the attackers’ minds, and on Carey Price’s psyche.  The will to stage a comeback is a mindset that must be cultivated with this squad.  Call it character, call it perseverance….

It seems so long ago that our Habs accomplished an exploit for the ages:

My advice to PK Subban is that instead of flying into a crazed, disconnected fight to vent frustration, a timely shot from the point would do the trick.

Habs are now headed to Raleigh, and this one against the Hurricanes is in the proverbial “must-win” category.

What was I saying about turnovers?

Two of the goals scored in last night’s game occured because of turnovers.

Sloppy play when faced with the league’s most productive offense = a costly loss.  Subban and Picard each finished the game with a -2 differential.

I am not thrilled with some of the goals that are getting in, as our Carey seems to have become a mere human once again.  The hockey gods are capricious, especially with goalies, and the 5-hole is holier than it should be these days.  The glove, capable of such exploits at times, has been given to bouncing glances at the puck that result in ugly, ugly scoring on the Habs.

This is precisely the kind of yuletide inconsistent effort and spotty energy that has me worried.

Habs are in Dallas next, to reconnect with their old friend, party animal/loud public drunk/ disruptor of Texan restaurants, Mike Ribeiro.

Habs vs. Boston, Dec 16 2010

See also:

A punishing hit by the Subbanator

It was a night of strange (read: stupid) goals, for the most part, and a night of strange firsts as well.  Cammalleri got his first career penalty shot, and deked Thomas out of his undies to score a beauty. Mike also had his first fight.  That one was a head-scratcher, since our handsome pint-sized sniper was going up against the brawnier Krejci–who is no Boogieman, but still….like a tenacious chihuahua fastening to your pantleg, Mini Iron Mike managed to overpower his opponent.

You’d think a matchup featuring two of the league’s best goalies would have offered few goals, or perhaps allowed only finesse displays of scoring ability, but it turned out quite otherwise, as many of the pucks that beat Thomas and Price seemed to defy the laws of physics, logic, and aesthetics.  Attemps to propel a puck into the crease bounced and careened into pads, skates, and into the net, and neither goalie was able to put on much of a show.

Our PK (the guy, not the special team)played better, and was able to deliver a legal but lethal check on Brad Marchand, much to the delight of the Bell Center crowd.  As for Pacioretty, he had a solid night, with a goal and an assist.

Of note: a sudden increase in penalty shots.  Has a memo been sent to the league’s refs asking them to spice up proceedings by suddenly allowing penalty shots, when they are normally rare?  One was allowed in the Leafs game as well last night, and suddenly they seem to be occurring frequently across the NHL.

Michael Ryder, once a prolific scorer, is MIA in Boston, just as he eventually was in Montreal.  Chara is also the shadow of his former self.

You, Sir, are dead to me.