I've been away for a bit.Not physically, just mentally.
But you can be sure I've been watching hockey.
Lots to talk about. For starters as I write this post, it is just past 1 p.m. EST, less than 2 hours before the trade deadline.
So far, not that much action, with the Florida Panthers the team that's made the most moves today. Boring!!!!
Tick tick tick. De time, it is ticking down...
And our beloved Habs!? As predicted, they remain quiet. Guess nobody wants Scotty Gomez!! And I was so set on seeing Dustin Penner in a Habs jersey. Guess that'll have to wait until the summer. And boy, it should be an interesting summer for the Habs.
No, the Canadiens have made their moves and this is the team that will fight to the death in the playoffs. Last week the team picked up dman Brent Sopel and forward Nigel Dawes from Atlanta. Sopel is a good pickup in my opinion. 34, rugged, stay at home type defenseman who blocks shots. A fair substitute for Gorges. He won the cup with Chicago last year, and anyone who follows hockey knows, that does make a difference!!! We needed someone like this. Also word is everyone likes him, and he's done well in the locker room. He played with a few players previously, namely Cammellari while in Los Angeles.
Speaking of which, number 13 for the Habs was like a deadline pickup as well. He missed 12 games with his separated shoulder, and the 2 goals he's scored since his return just reminded me how much we missed him. Aside from Kostitsyn, who has a better shot on the team than Mikey C??? He beats all of the league's goalies glove side, just like he did to Ward on Saturday night in the team's 4-3 win against the Hurricanes.
That game wasn't pretty, but boy did we need those 2 points. The previous loss to the Leafs at home was unacceptable!! 2 points down the toilet. The upside is, by losing the Habs just gave Leafs Nation a spoonful of hope that they all crave. Of course since that game, the Leafs blew leads in 2 separate games only to lose in OT or a shootout. 1 point is not enough, especially when they still have to jump a surging Sabres team who are ahead of them. Leafs don't make it, but keep it up!! I don't want to see another top 5 pick go to Boston again.
Spacek is out for the season. This kind of came and went very quietly but the big dman has most likely played his last game in Montreal. He had a slow start to the year, but with Hamrlik he did his darndest to fill the void created by the loss of Markov and Gorges.
That means, the Habs have lost 3 of their starting 6 defensemen this year!!! And to see them in the 6th spot in their division can only be a tribute to this team -- a team that has had trouble scoring all year. If my boy Carey Price doesn't at least get nominated for the Hart or Vezina, I will truly be disappointed. Considering all the hoo-hah from the summer trade of Halak and all the expecations, the boos, the preseason crap game against the Boo-ins, this guy has delivered big timo!!!! He will lead us to the cup some time soon... probably not this year, but soon. It's coming, because finally some prospects have emerged and gained a foothold on this team, and they're talented guys (Weber, Pacioretty, Desharnais).
And then there's Brother Andrei. Mr. Kostitsyn, you are the second coming of the mercurial Alex Kovalev, who was traded to the Penguins last week. And what does he do? He scores the first goal of the game, then scores the shootout winner with a shot nobody could have even seen leave his stick. The guy is brilliant. Too bad he's not Canadian, because if he were, he'd be challenging Gretzky's records....
But Kostitsyn, the last few games he's been taking the body, making solid plays and scoring game winners. That's how important this guy is for our team. He scores goals that matter. Not the 6th goal in an 8-2 win. Winning goals, clutch goals like he did in Vancouver and again in Montreal against the Hurricanes. Hurray Andrei, hurray! Pleeease keep it up.
Not only that, AK 46 had ignited a fire under Lars "Do you want me to sign your jersey" Eller. He's passing, he's scoring, he's playing well defensively. Now all we can hope is that Martin doesn't tear the line apart. Leave 'em alone!! With Travis Moen, they're potentially the best 4th line in the league. Please please please, just leave this line alone and let AK continue his solid play. KEEP HIM AWAY FROM GOMEZ!!!
That's all I have for today kiddies. Habs start a 3 game road trip tomorrow night in Atlanta, then off to Florida. Traditionally a tough trip for the team. Let's hope for the best. Kisses...
No comments:
Post a Comment