Habs Make Leafs Look Like Cup Contenders

Embarrassing performance by Canadiens at home against Leafs leaves team looking for answers

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Wha happen?

Huh?

Err... is this the Mongolian bar-b-q!?

Last night's game in Montreal against the Leafs -- was it one big "wake up and find Bobby in the shower" type dream!?

No. Unfortunately not.

But was it reality? Not entirely...

The Habs were looking to bounce back after two disappointing losses this week and maybe get some revenge for their opening night loss against the Leafs; instead they laid one very large egg in front of their hometown supporters, losing 6-0, their worst home loss since 1996.

Embarrassing is one way of looking at it. But it isn't the time just yet to push the panic button.

The Habs came out flat and lost faceoffs, puck battles -- you name it. And the Leafs to their credit came out with a lot of speed and pounced on Montreal's errors right off the bat.

Are the Habs that bad!? No sir.

Are the Leafs that good. Definitely not.

As always, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

In this lockout-shortened season, weird things are going to happen. Last night was definitely weird. The Canadiens couldn't establish any flow or net presence and made Leafs starter James Reimer look like Ken Dryden. Or maybe his brother Dave. Whatever, Reimer didn't have to work that hard to get his shutout, even if he stopped 20 shots in the second frame alone. He might have been tested five times all night.

Then the weird stuff happened in the third. The game was out of reach and Prust et al tried to at least send some messages for the next time. But when Colton Orr ran viciously towards Tomas Plekanec's knee, or when Mikhail Grabovski apparently bit Max Pacioretty's forearm in a scrum, things downright turned from the surreal to the nasty. Grabovski is set to have an NHL hearing Sunday afternoon.

But I'll tell you something. That was a major mistake by the Leafs moving forward against the Habs. You know why? Because the classic rivalry between the Habs/Leafs just hasn't been as strong from Montreal's perspective for a long time now. That's why for the last 10-15 years the Leafs seem to better the Canadiens, no matter how bad the buds are. They just get up for these games much more than the Canadiens, like they do for the Bruins.

But next time might be different. Next time the Habs have something to fight for, to get up for, to play for...

And that's all what Habs nation has right now after a loss like last night. Next time...

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24CH -- Entertaining but a bit soff

Like pretty much all of Habs nation I've seen the first two episodes of the HBO 24/7 type series 24CH which gives us an insider's view of the Montreal Canadiens like never before. This would've never happened under Pierre Gauthier's watch, that's for sure.

And it is entertaining, though a bit on the superficial side. Unlike the HBO series, the show doesn't seem to build on any storylines except that the Canadiens as a franchise are moving forward from last year's disaster. Maybe it's still a bit early, or maybe it's because it's only focused on one team, whereas the HBO had two teams to play off of. For me as in the HBO series it's the locker room stuff that I really enjoy. And probably the most evocative image -- for me at least -- was that of a Molson Centre staffer removing a picture of Scott Gomez from a wall.

The French version on RDS is also just a bit different than it's English counterpart on TSN, so I recommend watching both. Obviously the language of the players is English, so there's more footage of the players shown in the English version. And the music is different. The French version's soundtrack really was pretty cheesy. Glad to see they toned that down in the second installment which unfortunately only ran for a half hour. Doesn't seem long enough. In any case, 24CH is worth watching if you're a diehard Habs fan but as a show it doesn't bring as much of that sports documentary feel that HBO does so well. Maybe it needs Liev Schreiber narrating.

Follow me on Twitter: @HabsFanLeafLand

Play the System = Habs Win

Last night's 3-1 victory against the New Jersey Devils in Jersey last night was more of a morale booster than anything. But it also showed that the team took a step to evaluate themselves, and return to the kind of hockey that has proven to be successful for this team. Carey Price checks out what's behind him on Mattias Tedenby's penalty shot last night in New Jersey. The puck hit the post before touching Price's right pad to keep it out of the net. Photo by: Paul Bereswill, Getty Images. Jacques Martin's squad played a solid, 60 minute performance that wasn't fancy or spectacular. What it was was a team that decided to buy back into the system and do what it needs to do in order to be successful. It was a solid, much-needed win keeping the Habs in 6th place in the Eastern Conference, with 3 games to play. The Sabres lost in OT against the Caps, while the Rangers beat the Flyers in a SO this afternoon. So the Habs remain 2 points up on the Rangers, and 3 points up on the Sabres who have a game in hand. Mathieu Darche potted 2 goals, almost instant replays of eachother. He drove the net while Brian Gionta put the puck right on his stick allowing Darche to tip it past a helpless Martin Brodeur. Although the Devils weren't at their best, especially since they played the night before, Carey Price did what he had to do and only lost his shutout with less than 7 minutes left in the game. Darche provided a little of what has been missing on this team since Pacioretty went down to his injury: driving the net, using his speed, getting some important, but not necessarily pretty, goals. He's not MaxPac, but we need this kind of offensive push. P.K. Subban continued his fine rookie season with the 2nd goal of the game early in the 3rd period on the powerplay. And who was right in front of the net, but Andrei Kostitsyn. I don't know if this guy has grown up or finally realized what he needs to succeed, but he's been taking hits, giving hits and looking like one of our best all around forwards of late. Good for him. And the team only took one... that's right, one penalty during the game. In order for their offense to get in gear, the Habs need to stay out of the box and that's what they did last night. Hopefully their disciplined play continues. The turning point of the game came in the 1st period when Mattias Tedenby hit the post on a penalty shot while the score was still tied 0-0. If he scores there, game might have been very different. But luck was on the Habs side on this night. The Habs now return to Montreal for their last regular-season game against the Chicago Blackhawks. 2 points would almost certainly clinch their spot in the postseason. The team holds its fate in its own hands. Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs continued their last season surge with a 4-2 win in Ottawa against the Senators. But unfortunately for them, they only gained 1 point on the teams they're chasing. And with the win, the Habs cannot be caught by the Leafs, so that's one less team to worry about. Good for the Leafs to hang in there. It doesn't look like the playoffs are a reality, but the team can certainly build on their play of late for next season. Ultimately though, the Leafs aren't as good as they have been playing of late, while they're not as bad as they were at the start of the season, especially with a good goalie backstopping them. I didn't like Ron Wilson's quote the other day saying "It doesn't matter who's in nets...the way we've been playing." Is he serious???? Give me a break. With an average defense at best, the team needs to rely on a good goalie who can save the day. Boy, I bet he wished he had started James Reimer in that game against Florida the other week. Those 2 points could have made a difference.