Character Wins Hockey Games

Habs take 3 of 4 points on weekend to reclaim top spot in Eastern Conference

-----------------------------------

If there's one thing we know about freshman GM Marc Bergevin is that he likes hockey players with character.

So it was no surprise that his first signing was gritty forward Brendan Prust as a free agent from the New York Rangers. The Blueshirts still seem to be having issues replacing him.

It's players like Prust who provide those intangibles that can often swing momentum from one side to the other.

Brandon Prust taking one for the team from Milan Lucic in Boston. Lucic should really know better and pick on someone more his size, but it says a lot about both of their characters. Habs won 4-3. AP

Last night in Boston, it happened when Prust dropped the gloves to take on beast Milan Lucic and literally got punched out took one for the team.

The Habs were trailing 3-2 at that point and with the Bruins a strong third period team, it didn't look good.

But his teammates took notice, and responded in the best way possible by going out and winning that third period.

They also took notice when Alexei Emelin, steel plate in cheek, took on monster Zdeno Chara -- who received a fighting major and 10 minute misconduct going into the third. Bit of a mistake by the big Z but it paid off for the Habs.

So this year's edition of the Montreal Canadiens doesn't seem to wilt like they have in the past when faced with adversity.

Character.

It can go a long way on a hockey team.

Good teams seem to win games and collect points even when they don't have their best stuff. This weekend was a perfect example of that for the Canadiens. After Saturday night's surreal 7-6 OT loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Montreal, which saw a see-saw battle of giveaways, odd man rushes and somewhat sketchy goaltending, the Canadiens marched in to Boston's barn to begin a five game roadtrip. And they didn't exactly play a perfect game, but they did what they had to do to win, coming back in the third with two unanswered goals for the 4-3 victory.

Coach Therrien went with his gut, sent his team a message, sent his star goaltender a message -- whatever you decide -- by starting backup Peter Budaj in Boston. Twitter was ablaze, per the norm, questioning his judgment. Why start a backup who hasn't played in Boston since 2007 when the top spot in the conference is up for grabs? Doesn't make any sense...

But it does. Therrien is showing consistency in his message and that no player is immune from the team concept this season. You play well, you play. You don't perform to expectations, you sit. And it applies to Carey Price, just like it does to Lars Eller or Ryan White. Doesn't matter what nametag is on the back; what matters is that "CH" on the front.

I'm sure Price didn't like the call, but could respect it. He knows he didn't have a good game against the Pens. He knows he was shaky. He knows he has to be better -- as his team has to be better in front of him. And Price will be better. But in the meantime by starting Budaj, Therrien sent a message to the entire team and not just a single player.

And it worked. Budaj was solid and made a terrific save in the dying moments of the game to seal the deal.

So the Canadiens returned the favour to the Bruins in beating them on their home ice and coming back in the third to win. The Habs have to be happy with 3 of a possible 4 points when they didn't have their best stuff.

Things tend to even out; after all, the Habs had their best stuff in Ottawa last week and only got one point out of it.

Now it's on to Long Island to face the Islanders. Let's hope the Habs return the favour to the Isles from last week...

Habs Tale of Two Cities

Canadiens drop 3 of 4 points in back to back games against Bruins and Sabres
-------------------------------------------
If I said Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller would give up four goals five straight games in a row, would you think I was crazy? Drunk? Just plain stupid?

(Well I am fighting a cold right now.)

But it's true. Yet still, the Canadiens unfortunately reminded us of the team we painfully watched last year Thursday night in Buffalo when they gave up a two goal lead in the third to lose in a shootout 5-4.

For their part, the Canadiens came back strong after a disappointing loss to arch rival Boston Bruins, falling 2-1 on Wednesday night in Montreal but let the Buffalo game slip away. Twitter-folk were screaming for Peter Budaj's head but the truth is, he had a solid outing and kept the Habs in the game in the second when they ran into penalty trouble.

Thomas "I'm on fire!" Vanek celebrates his game tying goal with 2 seconds left against the Habs Thursday night. Buffalo won in a shootout 5-4.

In the Bruins game the Habs roared out of the gate but an inability to capitalize and a hot goaltender in Tukka Rask did them in. That and the fact that Boston is a strong third period team and with a quick goal 14 seconds into the third, the Bruins stunned the Habs who came out flatfooted eventually leading to the winning goal a few minutes later.

So it goes sometimes. I don't mind the Habs losing like that -- sometimes that's just the way the puck bounces. And Tomas Plekanec finished the night minus two.

But as good players often do, Plekanec bounced back with two goals but unfortunately it wasn't enough.

But what I do mind is how the Canadiens lost the game to the Sabres.

What's worse is how Montreal took leads into the third period only to lose both games. That's also like last year. Ulp!

Ryan White re-entered the fray replacing Travis Moen against Buffalo and you have to wonder what is going on with this guy. Game after game, he's taking unnecessary penalties and putting this team in difficult situations. And with the Canadiens in full control 4-2 in the third period, the guy takes another pointless penalty, opening the door for the Sabres to get back into the game -- which they did when Vanek scored.

Ryan White is essentially playing his way off the team and straight into the press box. Two losses in a row sting and we can feel the pressure ratcheting up. And boy Therrien was pissed -- a very quiet, controlled pissed, mind you -- in his post-game scrum. He didn't call him out by name at first, but it was easy to know who he was talking about. Then right at the end he mentioned White and how it might not have been his best decision to put him in back in the lineup. Oof!

Twitter was ablaze with rants and raves when it was announced that Budaj would get the call over Price against the Sabres but the Habs are entering a tougher part of their schedule and Therrien needs to keep him fresh. This was as good an opportunity as any to get Budaj a start.

And what can you say about P.K. Subban? After sucking it up and taking his two-year "bridge" contract he's clicked right away with Andrei Markov and has put up points in each of his four games.

I was a bit surprised with Subban's reaction to his goal against Boston -- not that it was flamboyant or anything but it was a bit more energized than I had predicted earlier. Against the Sabres, Subban blasted a one-timer off a Markov pass past Miller on a five-on-three and kept his reaction muted.

There's a time and place for everything.

Next game against the Leafs back in Montreal. No need to panic, but is it fair to say it's a must-win for the Habs?

---------------------------------------------------

Big thanks, or in hockey talk, stick tap to Anthony aka HabsHappy on twitter for the brand-spanking new masthead image which now sits at the top of this blog. The guy has some serious talent and he perfectly visualized my Habs Fan in LeafLand handle -- no easy feat. Still need to do some additional work on the design here but again, I can't thank him enough for donating his special skills and generosity. Check him out at www.arttocanvas.com

Follow-moi on le Twitter: @HabsFanLeafLand

Back to Normalcy

I awoke to a better world this morning.

A world that is back in sync; one where things feel and look like I remember them.

A world, namely, which does not include the Boston Bruins as Stanley Cup Champions.

You may have noticed my radio silence during this opening round of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.

This was not completely intentional.

I needed a bit of a break but also, since I was behind in posting my first round predictions I decided to let things unfold before chiming in.

Now I can...

Sometime after 10pm in my home last night, it was if the Stanley Cup had been won. But indeed it had been lost, and was as much of a victory for me as anything.

The Boston Bruins are now relegated to that spot where they can only watch who will take the trophy away from them, like an outgoing Prime Minister who's lost the election, or a Richard Nixon watching his foe in JFK taking the oath from another Nixon foe, Chief Justice Earl Warren (I'm reading his bio now, thus the reference).

Timmy Thomas didn't do his usual race off the ice after losing in overtime bit. This time, all he could do is watch. Caps beat the Bruins 2-1 in OT to win the series 4-3. Thank you.

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bruins lose, Bruins lose. Hey Jack Edwards, what do you say!!!???

It has been quite the interesting first round: Nashville's Shea Weber taking Zetterberg's head in hand and whacking it against the boards; the Raffi Torres hit; the OT's; the crazy (read: crap) goaltending in the Philly/Pittsburgh series; the Torres suspension; the lack of suspension to Weber; and now the Caps taking out the Bruins. There's more.

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh that deafening silence in Boston when Joel Ward slipped that rebound past a sprawling and finally not-so-lucky Timmy Thomas. Beautiful.

You got to love the irony, that it's Washington to beat the Bruins, after the now infamous snub of President Obama by Thomas when the team visited the White House. God Bless America, Timmy!

It's kind of funny that Ward scored the winning goal. I was thinking last night how clutch he was last year in the playoffs for Nashville and then signed a juicy contract with the Caps based on that performance. And this year? Disappointing to say the least.

But then he goes and redeems himself with the biggest goal of his career -- and for me, the biggest goal of the year!!!!!!!!!!

The playoffs make strange bedfellows. I found it somewhat odd rooting for a Capitals team that I so often have despised, especially in 2010 vs. the Habs. But there I was, sweating along with every play as if it were Carey Price in nets instead of the upstart rook Holtby.

Can he pull a Kenny Dryden and take the Caps all the way!?

Why not!? Even more possible if the Senators stay keep with the programme so far and knock out the Eastern Conference top seed New York Rangers.

And of course you know I was rooting for the L.A. Kings against Vancouver--a team I'll never root for again after letting the Bruins win the Cup.

Once it's set, second round predictions will be posted -- I promise.

Give 'Em Credit

I'm proud of myself.

Yes. Proud of myself for not getting sucked into the hoopla and faux-hope of the Canadiens making the playoffs this year after they won four straight last week. Reality... it crashes right into your face. How's that for "...just the perfect amount of pepper?"
 
And now that I'm approaching the season with this new-found attitude, I'm actually enjoying it more. So back to that draft pick...

And maybe some trades? One point out of four is certainly not enough -- even if the Habs currently sit 6 points out of a playoff spot as I write this (Toronto is up 2-1 against Edmonton right now).

Up, up and away!? Even Dave Van Horne wouldn't have made that call on Pacioretty. Habs lost 4-3 in a shootout. 

After a missed opportunity to keep the ball rolling against the Hurricanes the other night give the Canadiens credit as they came back in the third period tonight to squeeze a point out against the Bruins before losing in the shootout. Ho hum. Price was beaten stick side. What else is new!? Most definitely the scouting report on him. "Psst: Go stick side on Pricer. Works everytime." Krejci did. Hit the post. Seguin made it count and the odd combination of Bourque-Pacioretty-Eller came up firing blanks.

Good to see Ryan White in the lineup at least. And he got in the middle of things with a scrap. Welcome back!!

Time is-a-tickin' on the 2011-2012 season, and that's a good thing at this point. Personally I'm ready to play golf. So who's gonna be dealt??

Everyone is saying Hal Gill and Travis Moen. Now Kostitsyn is in the mix but he always was. Now really, what are we going to get for a malcontent? A fifth rounder??? And I think at this point, we'll take a bag of stinky sox from anyone who wants to take Scotty Gomez. To quote Buffalo Sabres Head Coach Lindy Ruff from earlier this season: "It's a joke."

Which is a great segway to my conclusion. Brad Marchand. Clipping. Again!!! The guy is going to get his some day. At least Chara took a puck to the face tonight... Like I said "It's a joke."