Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The Gonchar clause

If you bar players from taking a shot in the shootout if they are in the penalty box, you may open a whole can of worms with intentional penalties.


For example, say we're playing the Leafs. With 1 second to go, someone who can't shoot well (pick anyone on the Leafs) shoots it over the boards and gets a delay of game penalty. Wade Belak jumps on Alex Kovalev and punches him outright. Kovalev doesn't retaliate, but Markov does and so does Komisarek. Hapless Leafs jump in (though none of their shooters).

Multiple roughing penalties get handed out: 5 to the Leafs and 2 to the Canadiens. Notably, the Leafs lose none of their successful shooters, but manage to shorten their shooting bench to 15, so if the shootout goes beyond 15, Sundin is up when Gorges is shooting for the Habs. The Habs lose Markov who was goaded into a penalty.

Or take this example. I'm the Bruins playing the Sens in March. Gerber has been tanking now for a while. Andrew Alberts runs Emery and gets him to take a swipe. Both get penalties. Alberts can't shoot (who cares), and Emery must watch Gerber face the shooters.

This time it happened to be Gonchar that took the penalty, but more often than not it is not a skilled player doing that in OT (or any part of the game for that matter). Therefore, on average, between shortening the bench, targeting players to instigate and the chance of goalies missing the SO, there are many implicaations for this suggested rule change.

I wouldn't suggest asking for it. That is unless the Canadiens are craftier than I thought and have all these gameplans of their own up their sleeves.


Here's my proposed solution to the problem:

If the team on the PP scores on their first penalty shot, the game is over and won. No chance to reply for the offending team.

Wouldn't see many penalties that way, I bet. Whaddya think?

Game #11

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Tuesday October 30th, 2007
Opponent: Atlanta Thrashers
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC


Team Stripes


Final Score: 2-3 (SO) - Loss

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (L)
Opposition starting goalie: Johan Hedberg (W)

Habs goalscorers: Alexei Kovalev, Christopher Higgins (Saku Koivu - SO)
Opposition goalscorers: Eric Perrin, Vyacheslav Kozlov (Bryan Little - SO, Ilya Kovalchuk - SO)



2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...

1st Game for Price at the Bell Centre
1st Shootout Loss for Price
1st Goal without a visor for Higgins



Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

This game lacked a lot of the flare that we saw in last week's games. It was a high-tempo game, but there weren't too many spectacular plays. Great saves by Price or great defensive plays were no where really to be seen. This game had just good solid play.

Our goals were, however, quite nice. Of the 3, including Saku's shootout goal, the nicest, and timeliest, was Higgins'. On the PP at the end of the game (what did I tell you about a losing home team getting PP chances at the end) Higgins was stationed right in the slot waiting for the puck to come down the line to him. The puck traveled fast and the players moved it with conviction - from Alex to Saku and in a blink of an eye to Chris and then to the back of the net. It was a pretty goal which gave us hope at the time for 2 points, but at least bagged us one.



Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Alexei Kovalev

Alex was back on form tonight after a slightly off game (or half a game) in Pittsburgh. He contributed well with a goal and an assist and looked very dangerous on the power-play. It would appear that this Atlanta team has yet to figure Alex out which is good news for our next 3 encounters. Did Hedberg figure him out in the shootout though? Nope, Alex missed the next.



Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Alexei Kovalev
- A good offensive game, ran the power-play and looked in control along the boards in both ends

Saku Koivu
- Saku's best game in a few. His offence looked great tonight as he was the best player on his line. Unlike the past few games he looked sure of himself in his own end doing a good job cleaning up some messes

Tomas Plekanec
- No points tonight for Tomas, but a good game nonetheless. He looked threatening in Atlanta's end and his speed was evident all night. Showed a lot of of play making ability tonight

Defencemen

Mike Komisarek
- A few flashes of offence tonight combined with solid defence, hitting and shot-blocking. The defensive aspects are really coming along for Mike, but it is especially nice to see him getting involved with the offence

Roman Hamrlik
- There was a 2 minute stretch in the third when Hamrlik was our best forward, he was everywhere in the offensive zone. He had some great point shots tonight too. His defensive play, as usual, was solid

Goaltender

Caery Price
- No he didn't get the shootout win, and yes he looked quite beatable in the one-on-one challenge, but aside from that he played a good first game at home. He never made any crazy saves, but tonight his solid play was enough to give us a legitimate chance of winning



Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...

There was a pre-game ceremony to honour the Habs' 3 1000 game players - Hamrlik, Smolinski and Kovalev - all having achieved the feat in the past month. When Kovalev was presented with his crystal and silver stick he was smiling and seemed very happy. The crowd gave him the biggest ovation of the three, as they should have, he is the longest serving Hab of those 3, and it was great to see. During the ceremony it was obvious to see that Kovalev loves Montreal and the Habs, and that the people love him, despite how much certain media outlets try to stop that. Alex has been our best player all year and seems to finally be getting the recognition for it. It is just too bad that last year was considered a bad year for Kovy. Having watched all those games too I see no difference from this year in his play, the only difference I see comes at the end of the night when I pull up the scoresheet. Tonight was another top performance, another 2 points.

Kovalev's Assessment - Very Good


Overall Comments

I hate to say it, the all time cliche, but we should have won it. Once the game started my feelings on that changed, I saw Atlanta was a better team than their record indicates and they gave us a great game. On paper though, we should've won. However, I think we were due for a loss and they were due for a win - what a dangerous combination.

The Habs showed great heart to get back into this game after two goals caused by two pretty dismal defensive plays. The first was a team effort, they all contributed to making the Habs look bad. The second goal was unfortunately mostly Goges' fault. He gave the puck away right to Kozlov who went in alone to beat Price 5-hole. I can't, however, fail to mention that if a goalie doesn't cover his 5 with his stick then he shouldn't be a butterfly goalie, this is twice in 2 games now. The mistake for Gorges comes at a hard time for the kid who is currently battling with the Breezer for the number 6 spot. Gorges, in his 3 games, has looked, to be kind, quite awful and I could see a case for Patrice being made. Josh had a great camp, whereas Brisebois failed his medical so missed camp, but this is the regular season now. Camp is camp, at some point you have to show what you can do in a real game, otherwise you are just another Hainsey, Marcel Hossa or Jozef Balej.

This wasn't the best start to the week, but one point will do. We have 2 more games at home this week against teams we'll be battling with all year, so let's look at getting four points and please no OT.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Sans dix pourcent

Sometimes you have to wonder if some people ever think about turning on the other 95%...

Check out Guy Bertrand's (only previously known to me as Leon Mugesera's lawyer) latest thoughts in this article on the Gazette website.


Like a petulant child, he is now turning against anything and everything that could be blamed for his dream of an independent Quebec going a bit sour. One of the latest victims:

Saku Koivu!

Bertrand, a flamboyant Quebec City lawyer and hockey fan, was critical of the Finnish-born Koivu's failure "to respect the right of Quebecers to be served in French."

In an apparent need to prove himself a total ignoramus (and lead us all to question why he's quoted in the newspapers at all), he goes on to say:
He has been playing for 12 years (for the Canadiens). He is married to a francophone. It demonstrates contempt for our language. It is not respectful."

Of course we all know, as does Kevin Dougherty of the Gazette, that Koivu's wife is not francophone at all, she of course is Finnish.

My main issue is not that this ne'er-do-well is speaking out, that I don't care about. It's that political parties in our province take this sort of thing semi-seriously. The leader of the PQ did not dismiss the ideas outright, apparently quite open to forcing adult hockey players to learn French.

Do Bertrand and Marois realise that hockey players play hockey. That's the way they entertain people. Saku Koivu is not paid 5 million odd dollars a year to entertain through his interviews and his introductions. Neither is Chris Higgins or Andrei Markov. He is not robbing Guy Bertrand of his right to be served in his own language. He is serving Bertrand (should he choose to watch) in virtual silence for 60 minutes every other night.

I'll stop here. If I were to meet M. Bertrand, I would suggest he go down to the local bookshop, pick up a Finnish-French dictionary and translate his petty accusations into Finnish. He could then recite his pleas without seeming such a hypocrite and a bully.


Maybe Saku doesn't have the right to be addressed in his native Finnish, but he has certainly deserves the courtesy after all the positive things he has done for the city of Montreal.

Monday, October 29, 2007

70s Throwback Week: Montreal Canadiens October 22-28

[Montreal Canadiens Week takes a look at the week that was and the week ahead from a subjective standpoint, and is supplemented by the objective analysis following every fifth game]

The week that was

Wow. What a week. Boston, Carolina, Pittsburgh. W, W, W. And, done in style too! To make it all the better, the Bruins, Canes and Pens were all playing well until we showed them how to start a game.

Or, how about chasing Cam Ward and Marc-Andre Fleury on consecutive nights? Heaven only knows why Fernandez wasn't changed. Kovalev's 1000th game and 800th point (habsinsideout.com treatment), no fights with Carbo and 2000 game plans were also highlights. The end of the week, the intense shootout, with Crosby miss and Markov goal was a fitting end to an exhilerating week.


Somewhat lost in the excitement, I thought, was Grabovski's move to the wing, place in the line-up and first NHL goal. To me, this is very exciting news, as he has some serious raw talent (and it's quite raw at the moment). If he continues to get and take his chances well, we could have a great little player on our hands. And what a nice surprise that would be, considering he wasn't even a prospect worth mentioning when he was drafted (150th overall in 2004). I also thought his goal was a beautiful one, finishing with a very confident shot into the upper part of the net. It kinda reminded me of when you're playing well at pool and you can start rattling them in, instead of carefully placing them.

Unlike previous weeks, I can quite honestly say I was surprised this Sunday with where we were sitting in the standings. A pleasant surprise for sure, but there's still 82 points to get, so noses back to the grindstone...



Quote of the week
Latendresse on Facebook:

"Je vais rarement sur ma page Facebook, mais je reçois quand même 15 invitations par jour de la part d'amis que je ne connais pas, raconte Guillaume Latendresse. Je voulais être là-dessus juste pour retrouver des copains d'enfance Je pense que je vais fermer ma page très bientôt!"

["I rarely go to my Facebook page, but even so, I still get 15 inivtations a day to become friends with people I don't know. I wanted to be on it to find friends from childhood I had lost touch with. I think I'll be closing my account very soon!"]





Coming off an incredible week with 3 wins and 16 goals, ...

... what might Rejean Houle do?

Sit tight and admire his own handiwork.




... what might Sam Pollock do?

Goes to Hamilton on the week off to watch the Bulldogs in action. Makes a call to Brian Burke to ask how his season is going. Sends scouts to California and Arizona.




The week upcoming

Tuesday night: Atlanta Thrashers at the Bell Centre.

There's not much more dangerous than judging a team by their record. Atlanta, as we all know, lost their first 6 games. Since then, though, they have a 3-2 record. Neither of these stats lead me in one direction or another. But the fact they have both Hossa and Kovalchuk does lead me to think this game will be close. Luckily the Habs are coming off three firewagon games, so they shouldn't be caught out here. And with our superior defense and goaltending, we should get points from this one.

Thrashers to watch: Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa - Regardless of previous or recent form, coming into most games against the Thrashers, these will be the two players to watch (Fancy and Fancier).


Thursday night: Philadelphia Flyers at the Bell Centre.

Philly is a tough one to gauge. They had a good start on a western road swing and have got points in the majority of the rest of their games. They haven't played Ottawa, though, nor Pittsburgh, so it can't be said they have been thoroughly tested in the East. They have beaten Carolina, but then so have we (twice). Once again a superior goaltending backstop puts us in with a chance. Unfortunately,they have until this game to prepare, so they'll be ready. Honestly, this is not the playoffs, so if the Flyers want to do what they've done all season and injure people. I'd rather see a peripheral effort here than injuries like the ones their bullies have been dishing out.

Flyers to watch: Scott Hartnell and Martin Biron – Biron is the reason they are in the top half of the East (not Briere), and you can watch Scott Hartnell and be glad we signed Chris Higgins on the same day for 2.5 million a year less.


Saturday night: Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre.

Every year since the lockout (all 2), we get to the end of October and we as Habs fans look down at the Leafs and taunt. But every March, they are right close, with one team eliminating the other. In other words, never count the Leafs out. Never. This will obviously be the spectacle of the week, and I wouldn't look for our goalies doing any padding of the stats. Like every game with these guys, it could go either way. We could do our playoff race selves a favour by making sure the Leafs don't take any points here.

Maple Leafs to watch: Mats Sundin and Jiri Tlusty - If Sundin weren't a Leaf, I would say he is a pleasure to watch on most nights, but he is, so... All Leafs fans will be raving about this guy Tlusty all year long (remember Stajan > Ryder), so you might as well get some ammo for the comebacks.

NOTE: Once again, it will be interesting to see whether Price plays. I'd put him in for Toronto, give him a taste of what it's all about. We need to score to win in that affair anyway.



Overheard on the Habs train

Fan 1: Hey man, great to see you!

Fan 2: Yeah, dude, been too long. When was the last time? April two years ago?

Fan 1: Well, there was last year round Christmas, remember? We met on our way off the wagon.

Fan 2: Oh right, well this time, I bought my ticket early, gonna be a great ride

Fan 1: But you got a refundable ticket, right?

Fan 2: Of course, fully refundable.

Fan 3: Long time no see guys...

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Montreal Canadiens 5 Game Review (#2)

[Montreal Canadiens 5 Game Review takes a look at the last 5 games from an objective standpoint, with tabulations from Tobalev's game reports]

Date: Sunday, October 28th, 2007


The last 5

Opponents: Ottawa, Buffalo, Boston, Carolina, Pittsburgh

Record: 4-1-0
Home record: 2-0-0
Away record: 2-1-0

How it happened: L - W - W - W - W

Goals for: 23
Goals against: 14

Conference ranking (Season): 4
Conference ranking (5 games - i.e., 10/17 to 10/27): T1





Stack of pucks

Alex Kovalev, Christopher Higgins (2)

Saku Koivu, Andrei Markov, Roman Hamrlik, Cristobal Huet, Tomas Plekanec, Carey Price (1)






Play of the set
Contender for play of the year...

It was always gonna be a PP goal this week, wasn't it. And in Kovalev's big week (halfway mark of his career...), it's fitting he's in on it. For the pick of the week, I am opting forWe have to go back to Game 9 vs. the now second-place (yhanks to us) Canes:

The goal of the game was Kovalev's. What a player, what a special night. Tonight he netted his 338th goal, which was his 800th point in his 1000th game. The goal was a great collaborative effort culminating in a low, quick one-timer from Kovy. During one of our many 1st period power-plays the puck looked like it was on it's way down to Huet as 2 'Canes converged on it in their own slot. In came Plekanec with a diving effort to push it back to the left point to Markov. Markov then threw it right across to the right side where Alex was waiting impatiently.

See the play (within the game highlights).


5-game domers

F: Kovalev (3/5); Plekanec (2/5); Ryder (2/5)

D: Markov (4/5); Hamrlik (2/5)

G: Huet (3/5)



Kovalev's 5-game Assessment - Good to Very good

One patch of turbulence that couldn't really overshadow a smooth flight. A couple of loops and rolls kept us well entertained.




Scoring and statistics (Top 5 over 5):

Goalscorers: Kovalev (3); Plekanec, Markov, Higgins, Dandenault, Ryder, Chipchura (2)

Point-getters: Plekanec (8); Koivu, Hamrlik (6); Higgins (5); markov, Kovalev, Streit (4)

Shooters: Kovalev, Plekanec (14); Smolinski (11); Streit (10); Markov, Ryder (9)

+/-: Markov, Komisarek, Chipchura, Begin (+3); Dandenault (+2)

GAA: Huet (2.34); Price (3.39)
Save %: Huet (.926); Price (.875)

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Game #10

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Saturday October 27th, 2007
Opponent: Pittsburgh Penguins
Venue: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, PA


Team Stripes


Final Score: 4-3 - (SO) Win

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (W)
Opposition goalies: Marc-Andre Fleury, Dany Sabourin (L)

Habs goalscorers: Mathieu Dandenault, Andrei Markov (1, 1 - SO), Michael Ryder
Opposition goalscorers: Petr Sykora, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Whitney



2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...

1st Games on successive nights (yesterday, tonight - 2 wins)
1st Shootout win of the season
1st Shootout goal scored for the Habs
1st Shootout win in Price's career



Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

Tonight wasn't a game filled with great plays, at least not for the Habs. Our goals in regulation were good, but nothing special. Price kept us in the game, but again nothing special. The best save that Price did make was after a brutal give away by himself, so I could hardly call that the play of the game.

The shootout, however, was a different story. Price made a few great saves against some really talented players and we scored a beaut on a surprisingly good goalie, or at least a goalie playing surprisingly well. Our 8th shooter, and 16th overall, was Markov, he skated in fast (often the key to shootout success) and beat Sabourin 5-hole on a sweet little move and sprinted to his bench yelling with enthusiasm, it was great to see.



Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Carey Price

This was Price's best game in his young Hab career. After the Habs took the 3-0 lead the Pens started to play, and boy can they play. Carey took us all the way to the 59th minute with the win within our grasp, but successive penalties against us proved to be too much for the team and too much for Price. Obviously upset and feeling he had something to prove Carey stepped up huge in the shootout. He faced 8 shooters, but his imposing stature, which is even evident on TV, was too much for the likes of Crosby, Malkin, Gonchar, Recchi and co. who often missed the net or shot right at him. He got the best of the Pens on this night as he didn't let a single one by him in his first ever shootout. What a performance!



Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Mathieu Dandenault
- Well I guess this confirms it, he is a forward. Tonight he scored his 3rd of the year, his first good one, to put him on pace for over 20. He also had a very strong game defensively, not shockingly, giving our PK and forecheck game some good speed and energy all night

Michael Ryder
- His goal turned out to be crucial. It did seem to give Pittsburgh their spark, but I think they would have gotten that eventually, thus we needed at least 3 to take it to OT. Played well with Saku tonight showing more creativity than the past few games, also played decent in our own end

Saku Koivu
- Time and time again tonight he stole the puck and seemed to make things happen in the offensive zone. He played 23:49 tonight which is quite remarkable considering we played last night. Although he had 2 points last night tonight was a far superior game for the skipper, he ran the show in both ends

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
- A goal and another one in the shootout on a night where defensively he didn't seem to stand out. Mind you he played against Crosby all night, played 29+ minutes and was +1, not bad on an off night

Francis Bouillon
- May not have gotten on to the scoresheet tonight, but that is not what he is here for. He is here for precisely what he did in this game, block shots, throw big hits and strip the opposing forwards of the puck. Our best defensive defenceman tonight, in one of his best games of the season

Goaltender

Carey Price
- A mediocre 65 minutes, but what a shootout. He looked like any rookie back-up would during regulation, but in the shootout he looked like the player we all hope he is going to be



Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...

Kovalev showed a few signs of being tired tonight after a game, flight and possible celebration last night. His first period was fine and by the end of the third he was back to normal, doing his thing. It was during maybe a half hour period that he looked slower than usual, making a few careless and lazy plays. One of these lazy plays was his hit on Malkin which resulted in a penalty and Pittsburgh's first goal. Until that time we had looked like we were in complete control. Luckily with about 10 to go in the 3rd he was back to skating around people and giving us some serious chances. In overtime he was our best player, as the Habs almost ended it a couple of times on the 4 on 3.

Kovalev's Assessment - Good



Overall Comments

This was maybe a game that we shouldn't have won that we did. The Penguins were flying after the 1st intermission and it seemed like our team did just enough to limit them to 3 goals. Their switch of Sabourin for Fleury, making that the second time in 2 nights that we have chased a goalie out of the game, seemed to give them new life, but luckily those 3 goals would suffice. It was then Price who stole the show and essentially got us the win, with a little help from Markov of course.

This marked the first time of the season that we played back-to-back games, something we'll have to do 10 more times, for a total of 22 games, this season. Last year we played 15 back-to-back series and never swept one. We won a measly 10 of those 30 games last year, a huge reason why we missed the playoffs. Our goal this year should be to win half, 11, of these games especially the ones at home. It was obvious that tonight we were tired after a the big game yesterday. We started strong, but come halfway our legs fell off and we did all we could to hold on. Pittsburgh had the luxury of not playing last night and of being on home ice, but it wasn't enough for them this time. This is a very good sign for the Habs, they battled hard and took the 2 points, giving them 4 points in Pittsburgh this season. This seems to be a changed team from last year with a new, harder-wroking attitude which pays off in games and situations like these.

10 games into the season and we are looking good. We have 14 points, one more than after 10 last year, which was considered a lightning start, with 9 of those points coming from 6 road games. This week was a tough one with 1 home game and 2 away games against a couple of pretty good teams, but we got all 6 points to put us on a nice, little 4 game winning-streak. The question now is, can we do what we have failed to do ever since the lockout? Take a good start and turn it into a good season.

Accolades to Alex

Well Alex Kovalev is probably just enjoying the final minutes of his 1000th recovery day in the NHL. Albeit, he had to spend it plotting how he would trample the team he found his greatest successes with, but even so.


I wanted to pay a short tribute to Alex's achievements last night. First of all, the 1000 games is a great achievement in a league like the NHL, and should be respected. Secondly, 800 points is nothing to laugh at either, nor is 0.8 points per game over a career for that matter - a pace that he has managed to keep up since arriving in Montreal, believe it or not.


While many have maligned the big Russian in the past 12 months, I know he still has many fans. We on Lions in Winter generally hold him in very high regard, and have actually been keeping an eye on him this year to make sure he's doing alright and no one can forget his impact on games throughout the year.

I thought on the occasion of his 1000th recovery day, I would re-post something that not many people will have read (apart from maybe Tobalev) as it was a very early post. Consider it a tribute to Alex and an explanation as to why I think we should all give him this kind of respect on a more regular basis:

http://lionsinwinter.blogspot.com/2007/05/alexei-kovalev-one-and-only.html

So congratulations Alex. I hope you do make it to 2000 games, and I look forward to your comments about reaching that milestone.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Game #9

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Friday October 26th, 2007
Opponent: Carolina Hurricanes
Venue: RBC Center, Raleigh, N.C.


Team Stripes


Final Score: 7-4 - Win

Habs starting goalie: Cristobal Huet (W)
Opposition goalies Cam Ward (L), John Grahame

Habs goalscorers: Kyle Chipchura, Tomas Plekanec (2), Alexei Kovalev, Saku Koivu, Mark Streit, Mathieu Dandenault
Opposition goalscorers: Jeff Hamilton, Eric Staal, Ray Whitney, Rod Brind'Amour



2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...

1st Game with 7 goals scored this season
1st Time The Habs have scored 5 PP goals since 1975
1st Game with 4 points in the NHL for Plekanec
1st in the NHL in PP % - 32.6%



Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

Goals, goals, goals. What a fun game to watch, especially the 1st period. As a team I would say defensively we weren't that great. Huet was bombarded with 36 shots against, by a great offence, but still he wasn't that great. Tonight our offence got us the win with quite a few nifty goals to show for it.

The goal of the game was Kovalev's. What a player, what a special night. Tonight he netted his 338th goal, which was his 800th point in his 1000th game. The goal was a great collaborative effort culminating in a low, quick one-timer from Kovy. During one of our many 1st period power-plays the puck looked like it was on it's way down to Huet as 2 'Canes converged on it in their own slot. In came Plekanec with a diving effort to push it back to the left point to Markov. Markov then threw it right across to the right side where Alex was waiting impatiently.



Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Tomas Plekanec

A career night for the second-line centre. It seems that he likes playing this Carolina team as he is now better than point-per-game in his career against them (12 points / 10 games played) . He had 2 goals and 2 assists and a lot of great offensive plays tonight.



Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec
- Had a great game in Carolina, again. His offence tonight was spectacular taking him to 10 points on the season, tied with Saku for the team lead

Alexei Kovalev
- 1000 games into his career, but seems better than ever. Tonight he gave us a crucial goal at a time when Carolina were trying to get back in the game

Bryan Smolinski
- Didn't get on the scoresheet tonight, other than for his penalty, but had a great defensive game. The Habs tonight were 5 for 5 on the PK which is pretty good for a team that was under 80% for the season coming in

Defencemen

Mark Streit
- Very effective on the power-play, even scored one of his own. A useless penalty in the 3rd tarnished an otherwise perfect game

Andrei Markov
- Great game quarterbacking the PP, he ran the show and the results speak for themselves. A few great rushing and outlet plays from his own end as well

Goaltender

Cristobal Huet
- Played well. He did what he had to for the win tonight. At times when Carolina looked like they may get back in it and make a game of it Huet stood tall. Nothing really spectacular, but a good solid effort behind a team that knows they can trust him back there. Got unlucky having a penalty shot scored against him as he did stop the original play



Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...

Tonight was his 1000th game and 163rd as a Hab. He played very well, as he has done all season, and was again the main reason we didn't need our 1st line to be our sole scoring option. He has been interviewed quite a bit over the past few days and again tonight and I have noticed the same thing every time - he loves hockey, he loves playing to the best of the abilities and he loves the Habs. What more can you ask from a superstar? Tonight his goal gives him 5 on the year to go along with 3 assists. A great start for a great player.

Kovalev's Assessment - Very Good



Overall Comments

Tonight the team again played very well as a team and as each game goes by I am getting more and more of the sense that these players are playing for each other. We aren't relying on one line or 4 individuals anymore, we are playing and winning as a team. The funny thing is that as this happens the lines and players that we are used to relying on are actually better than before. It is as though each shift a line goes out there and feeds off the energy that the other 3 lines have just left out on the ice. We did well to score 5 in the first, but after that happened I knew, especially against Carolina, we would have to keep it going. In the end 5 would have been enough, but I am glad that at the end of the game when they were pressing it was 6-4 and not 5-4. We never sat on our lead, we kept trying to score, which is the way it should be done. When we were up by 4 I saw the usual power-play units out on the ice for every PP. To me this is key, the longer you keep playing offence the less time you have to think about not letting them back into the game.

Our power play is the real deal. It is too bad that the mainstream media is only realizing this now. Go back to some of Topham's pre-season posts and you can see that he made this very clear - losing Souray was more likely to help our team than hurt it. I totally agree and I can't imagine anyone arguing that now. Souray's departure has meant a more creative power-play with shots coming from spots other than the left point. It has allowed players like Higgins, Koivu, Kovalev, Streit and Markov more time with the puck. It has given them more time to show us that they have a lot more skill on the PP than we had been exploiting over the past 2 seasons. If you disagree you can ask Edmonton fans how well their power-play specialist is doing. They may tell you that they wish Lowe would have done a bit of a better job scouting, if you can even call looking at a sheet of paper scouting.

It was a good game and a good way to start our first series of back-to-back games for the season. The win gives us 2 wins in Carolina this season, something a lot of other teams main find hard to do. I'm sure come springtime we will look back and be very happy we took 2 of 2 from the 'Canes in their rink. The game followed a usual pattern of penalties which we should be more careful about. It is obvious that if a team is leading in the 3rd and they have scored some power-play goals that they will be penalized a few times, every chance the refs get, especially if the home team is losing. Remember, this is a business and the league wants exciting, close games, with exciting finishes for home fans, otherwise they may never comeback. They gave us 2 penalties in the last 10 minutes, but luckily we were up to the test. It is weird that the league caters more to people that don't like hockey than people that do. When was the last time you didn't go to the Bell Centre because the Habs had lost the last time you were there? Or maybe it was that the intermission entertainment wasn't entertaining enough to get you back.




From the back of the cupboard – Yann Danis

Apparently, Yann Danis is off to quite a start in Hamilton. Though I question getting too excited about him taking over from Halak after 4 good starts, I am thoroughly impressed with this young man.


His presence in the organisation will make those ahead of him better and speaks volumes about the players that Bob Gainey has managed to bring in, sometimes recuperate from the hockey scrap heap as in Danis' case (and Mark Streit's).

Take a look at some ofthe things that Yann Danis was saying to reporters in West Toronto:

“I’m No. 4 in their organization. Not that I think I’m a No. 4 guy. I know I can be a No. 1"


“It’s hard to explain. I just came in and tried not to put too much pressure on myself,’’ said Danis, whose 141 games played is a Bulldogs goalie record. “I’ve played this game for so long. I’ve been successful most of the time."


Oozing maturity and professionalism, not to mention confidence in his own abilities.

If there were a prototypical player the Canadiens are looking to have in the depths of their organisation, it would be Yann Danis. He has played through adversity – the disappointment of not being drafted, the disappointment of being unseated as next in line for the Habs number twice now – and come through the fire. The maturity he has won over the journey will help him in his future careers (hockey and otherwise) and will surely rub off on some of the young starlets we have down there for their apprenticeship. For me, he is a living ad for playing your hockey in the US College system vs. Canadian Major Junior. He has perspective and poise (and an Ivy League education to boot).

We can't ask much more than Yann Danis than to work hard to improve his play, stop shots, win games and keep saying all the right things. Keep doing what he is doing, and (really) what he has been doing since his Brown days.

If he keeps it up, I think he'll be in the NHL sooner rather than later, if only because he'll make his trade value so high that the Canadiens won't be able to resist trading him... and that will be a good day for Yann and Bob, both.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Heads up move – Joel Bouchard

The Journal de Montreal is reporting that Joel Bouchard has signed a 25-game contract with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

A once-capable 8th defenseman, Bouchard won't likely see the light of day with the Habs. However, his history as a person, if not necessarily as a hockey player, paints him in a very nice light:

You have:

- a history of playing as many games as his team need
- perserverance of coming back from failed opportunities and injuries
- charity work, including a series of charity games organised by him during the lockout
- his work on a TV show for children


Though, he played only 4 games in the AHL last year and 25 games for the Islanders the year before, his qualities make him a good pick-up for a fill-in in Hamilton. The AHL defensemen will be able to learn from his experience, even if he doesn't play much.

All in all a heads up move by BriseBois in his first season down there.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Awaiting the revolution

You say you want a revolution, well...

I came to the topic of revolutions when I was browsing the battery of Habs websites on my daily list.

revolution

• noun 1 a forcible overthrow of a government or social order, in favour of a new system. 2 a dramatic and far-reaching change. 3 motion in orbit or in a circular course or round an axis or centre. 4 the single completion of an orbit or rotation.

The first one: Dave Stubb's great piece on Paul Haynes, got me thinking about how playing a player on his off wing could have been a revolution in years gone by (see it doesn't necessarily take much). Then there were some other articles and posts here and there, which generally made me feel like everyone was pretty hunky dorey with the way things were going right at the moment (RDS, Mike Boone, this blogger)


I don't want a bloody revolution like Lenin's or Robespierre's. I want to imagine the possibility of change, without the casualties, more like say the internet revolution - a force of change so irresistible that it moves along of its own volition.

I don't think things are as bad as they've been for the Habs, but we're not "there" yet.

Where is "there"?

Well, I like to imagine it is possible for this team to go from battling for the playoffs every year (every other if I'm honest about it) to a team that wins the Cup 3 to 5 times in a ten-year span. A team fighting to maintain parity to fighting to form a dynasty. I want to watch a team that is light years ahead with their first Cup in many years and then works hard to stay in front.

Don't get me wrong an accidental Cup would be nice, but this is Montreal here.

We invent hockey, we invent 50 goalscorers, we invent draft day rip-offs, we invent playoff OT miracles, we invent the hockey dynasty.

NHL revolutions begin and end here. There's Richard; Geoffrion adopting the slapshot; Jacques Plante deciding to protect his mug; Patrick Roy playing the butterfly. And if another revolution comes along, we pooh-pooh it and win anyway, at least in time -think about Bobby Orr, Broadstreet Bullies or another team in Eastern Canada trying to be successful.

I don't know what the next revolution should be, and a good thing, since the frustration of knowing just what to do, and limited to yielding the power of this puny blog would drive me mad for certain. I just get upset with the complacency that creeps in every time we beat a hapless crew on a night in October. I also happen to know a non-revolutionary idea when I see one:
playing 7 defensemen, needlessly pursuing a goon, trading a veteran in March of his UFA year, listening to Don Cherry (eh, PJ?)...

Our team is good. It can beat any team most nights. But it still falls short of being able to beat every team most nights, most teams every night, or every team every night.

That's what you need if you start thinking like a revolutionary.

What if we started trading players as soon as they reach the height of their abilities (um, Theodore, Ribeiro maybe back when) for top returns. What if we started trading prospects we may see in 2 years for a ten year career for someone with a guaranteed value today for an 8-year stint. If done a few times over the course of one season might just turn the league on its head.

I'm not asking for Gainey and Carbonneau to go ahead and revolutionise everything by tomorrow, I merely ask that they think about being revolutionary sometimes.

I especially ask that the fans use a bit more imagination and expect something a little more revolutionary from this team - more revolutionary than benching every player who goes a game without a goal. Let's see some revolutionary ideas and be patient about their proper implementation, they just might work. And heck, they're a lot more entertaining to debate...

Once a week from now on, I'll try to come up with one revolutionary way in which I think the Habs could take steps become a dynasty again.

... don't you know it's gonna be. Alright.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Game #8

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Monday October 22nd, 2007
Opponent: Boston Bruins
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC


Team Stripes


Final Score: 6-1 - Win

Habs starting goalie: Cristobal Huet (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Manny Fernandez (L)

Habs goalscorers: Christopher Higgins, Alexei Kovalev, Steve Begin, Patrice Brisebois, Mikhail Grabovski, Andrei Markov
Opposition goalscorers: Dennis Wideman



2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...

1st Back-to-Back wins this season
1st Ever Win against Claude Julien
1st Goal in the NHL for Grabovski
1st Goals of the season for Begin and Brisebois
1st Point of the year for Komisarek



Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

Huet made 31 saves and at times looked brilliant. During the first 2 periods, while the game was close he made crucial saves that kept us in the lead and never let Boston get in the game. There were, however, a lot of goals that were scored tonight and all of them were pretty. You should really try and see them all if you can, but there is one that stands out.

For the longest time it was Kostopulos' pass for Begin's first of the year that was making it in here as the 'Play of the game'. Those two's play was unfortunately outdone, or fortunate when you think of it, by Streit, Koivu and Markov. On the power-play Streit kept the puck in along the boards, laid off a through-the-legs backhand pass to Sak, he in turn saucered a backhand pass to Markov who proceeded to skate in, drop a D-man with a fake, only to roof it over Fernandez's right shoulder. Very reminiscent of Markov's last second goal versus the Bruins last year.



Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Cristobal Huet

No one forward or defenceman stood out tonight, but as a group they played fantastically. Despite the odd mistake, the team as a whole was very sharp this game. Cristo, though, tonight was the standout player. He made 31 saves to raise his save percentage to .934. The only goal against him was on the power-play, a shot from the slot on which he was completely screened. He looked so confidant and sure of his play all game, even his puck-handling was good.



Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Alexei Kovalev
- He potted the game-winner as well as adding an assist. Supplied his usual blend of making the defence look like a team of pee-wees and good hard work along the boards

Mikhail Grabovski
- His best game in the NHL by far. He was rewarded with a goal courtesy of Smolinski, playing his 1000th game, who fed Grabovski a perfect pass on a 2 on 1. Very noticeable in both ends all night, he even saw some PP time and got in a bit of a scrap

Tomas Plekanec
- He shouldn't have too many more people to convince now of his second line status. Ever since January he has looked great with Kovalev and that continued tonight. Good passing, good faceoffs and he put a lot of pressure on the Bruins' puck carriers all night

Defencemen

Mike Komisarek
- Each game this guy takes strides towards becoming an excellent D-man. Tonight he added a little offence, but it is for his D that he is being recognized. He was in the face of the Bruins' players all night, provoking them, hitting them, drawing penalties, it was great. To top it off he had no PIM all night. Countless shot-blocks, now number 2 in the league behind only Volchenkov

Andrei Markov
- A beautiful goal for his third of the season was his high point tonight. He also played very well in both ends. The Markov-Komisarek tandem is becoming one of the best in the league and is shutting down opposing top lines on a regular basis

Goaltender

Cristobal Huet
- His best game of the year. Tons of saves, and a lot of great ones too. His play behind the net tonight was very good, he never tried anything beyond his means



Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...

Another great game from Alex. One thing I have noticed all year is that his penalty minutes are down. To me there is no coincidence between that and his increased offensive output. Less incidental minors from AK means more power-plays for us and more PP time for him. He wasn't required to lead the forward group tonight, as there were 12 separate leaders. He did get a goal and an assist tonight, however, which is a nice bonus in a game where we didn't need Alex to be Alex.

Kovalev's Assessment - Very Good



Overall Comments

Boston - new coach, new players, new uniforms, same old attitude. The Bruins will always be the 'Big-Bad' Bruins to me. Unfortunately for Julien and co. 'bad' in this sense is not a compliment. Like the Bruins teams of the past 5-10 years this group can be counted on for giving up, taking plenty of retaliatory penalties and trying to hurt opposing players. We play 8 games against this team and should put in a solid effort every time. Getting a lead on the Bs early in the game means more power-plays, more goals and more wins. We saw this tonight, where after our 3rd goal there was no real chance of them mounting a comeback.

32 shots against Huet may be misleading, especially since we as a team only had 20. Fernandez, believe it or not, isn't that bad, he didn't even play that badly. The difference with the shot totals tonight is that we had 20 quality shots and the Bruins threw the puck at the net 32 times. It is interesting that in a game where we had our lowest shot total of the year we managed to score our most goals in a single game. Watching the game it was obvious that the Habs were given, and used, a lot of time to set up the 'right' shot and often it worked. Sometimes a shot just isn't the same as a shot, numbers can sometimes lie.

This was a great start to a tough week. We now have 3 days off to get ready for back-to-back road games in Carolina and Pittsburgh. Let's hope we'll see more of this offence in the coming days, we know that against teams like the 'Canes and Pens' we'll need it.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Montreal Canadiens Week: October 16-21

[Montreal Canadiens Week takes a look at the week that was and the week ahead from a subjective standpoint, and is supplemented by the objective analysis following every fifth game]

The week that was

Back to the normal rhythm, 3 games, 7 days; with a weekly review on the Sunday following the resounding win at home on Saturday. What could be more normal than that. For a week I thought we would be able to collect 4 points of 6, I have to say I am strangely satisfied with 3 points.


First of all, the Habs played some good games. In fact, their efforts were probably superior to the games in which they had won the week before. So, movement in the right direction.

Next, we had some scoring from scorers, namely Michael Ryder, Christopher Higgins and Guillaume Latendresse. Higgins and Ryder were rewarded for strong play, while Latendresse is starting to turn things around a bit (which is a very good thing if the Habs brass remain determined to find him a place in the lineup).

Lastly, there were some interesting and good decisions made this week. Benching Begin and the mass confusion it caused among the press at least sets the precedent that lineup decisions will be made by the coach, not the press, not the players. Murray may not have availed himself very well during that game, but Carbonneau should be looking at his options over 82 games, so as not to burn out all the intensity by December like last year. The Kovalev debacle, and the brief "crisis" that was purported was pooh-poohed so fast it was impressive. I have to say it was deft of Carbonneau to tell Kovalev off and massage his ego at the same time by likening him to Guy Lafleur.

In any case, the media was put back in their box a couple of times for getting overexcited, and Carbonneau coached through it without bowing to their wishes. It makes this fan happy, because I think Carbo will be a better coach than Michel Bergeron ever was.

Once again, at the end of the week, nothing is too surprising. We sit about where everyone expected (even the optimists). Some tough lessons learned this week will hopefully make us a stronger team in the winter months for once.

If I was stretched to come up with a surprise, it is that Brisebois is still up on the top two pairings and that they had Grabovski in the lineup instead of Andrei Kostitsyn in the last game. But even that, I am going to put down to October. Talk to me in January if we're in the same position – I think I will be surprised.


Quote of the week
On Kovalev's comments:

"Mais Alex, c'est Alex. Il est comme Guy Lafleur. Je n'ai pas aimé ce qu'il a dit. Il a émis une opinion alors qu'il aurait dû m'en parler. C'est pourquoi je vais m'entretenir avec tous les joueurs."

["But Alex, he's Alex. He's like Guy Lafleur. I didn't like what he said. He gave his opinion (to the press) when he should have spoken to me first. That's why I'm going to have a talk with all my players"]





Coming off a slow week with a couple of good games and another we actually won, ...

... what might Rejean Houle do?

Starts making calls about trading 1-goal man Michael Ryder.




... what might Sam Pollock do?

Calls Koivu, Kovalev and Higgins into his office to discuss the team and talking to the press.




The week upcoming

Monday night: Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre.

Well. They may have come around – the Bruins are actually ahead of us. On closer look, they've already beaten the Coyotes and the Kings, two of the relatively few bottom-dweller teams actually remaining in this league. And their last win was a scoreless affair where they pipped the Rangers to the post in the shootout. The Habs like playing against average goalies and average defenses, and the Bruins have these. They can still score if asked to, just not last game I suppose. If there is such a thing as momentum (and I think there is), then the Habs should win this with a properly convincing effort.

Bruins to watch: Bergeron and Chara - Beregeron always looks better in Montreal than anywhere else and Chara loves to manhandle the small forward corps here.


Friday night: Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center.

Our season series with these guys will be over by Remembrance Day at this rate. What to say that we don't remember from last week. They can score, and Cam ward can goaltend on occasion. Keeping the Eric/ks in check is obviously key. This series will be tight the whole way, but we should be in most games (including this one) with a chance.

Hurricanes to watch: Justin Williams and Bret Hedican – Williams has been having a great start, and Bret Hedican is looking for 3/3 on star selections versus the Habs.


Saturday night: Pittsburgh Penguins at the Mellon Arena.

Remember after the lockout, Pittsburgh were the team to beat and then they tanked. Last year, they were the team to get yer points off and they excelled. Who knows where this team will go to this year, but keep in mind, they are not going to surprise anyone this year. Bring Lapierre up to get in Sidney's face and I think we take it.

Penguins to watch: Crosby and Malkin - It's another game where we see if Therrien and the Penguins can ride on the two centres coattails for a win.

NOTE: It will be interesting to see whether Price plays Friday or Saturday this week. I don't think Sidney Crosby takes too long to figure a goalie out, I'd go with Friday if I were coach.

All aboard

A number of the passengers getting bored with the wait on the platform decide to detrain and head to the strip clubs up the street. A lot more empty seats than last week. Tickets fast becoming available on ebay.

Stationmaster Carbonneau assured the hysterical among the passengers that the train would be leaving if and when he thinks it is ready. He's frantically trying to find a caboose (with a loose connection) where he plans to entertain the press for the trip.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Game #7

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Saturday October 20th, 2007
Opponent: Buffalo Sabres
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC


Team Stripes


Final Score: 4-2 - Win

Habs starting goalie: Cristobal Huet (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Ryan Miller (L)

Habs goalscorers: Bryan Smolinski, Kyle Chipchura, Roman Hamrlik, Christopher Higgins
Opposition goalscorers: Paul Gaustad, Derek Roy



2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...

1st Goal in the NHL for Chipchura
1st Point in the NHL for Grabovski
1st Goal as a Hab for Hamrlik
1st Goal as a Hab for Smolinski
1st Home win for the Habs



Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

4 goals to choose from, what a luxury. This game also featured Huet at his best, making save after save to keep us in it right until the end.

The play of the game goes to young Chipchura tonight. The Habs had just let Buffalo score two within 9 seconds and it looked like they may had lost their chance of winning the game. In comes the fourth line to provide a little energy, maybe some forechecking and we get a goal out of all of it. Chipchura fought hard for the puck in the corner, to Miller's left, and after a lengthy battle came out with it. Not only did he strip a very experienced Buffalo defender, but he also did what we haven't done in the past few seasons, he shot the puck, just in case. Well it worked, a high wrist shot, top corner, Miller looked stunned. It was a great 1st goal in the league for Kyle and it came at a great time in the game, putting the Habs right back in the match.



Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Roman Hamrlik

The search is over, we have a #2 defenceman. Hamrlik again showed both aspects of his game, his big imposing style on defence and his underrated offensive ability. 3 assists in a game where the Habs needed a lot of offence to beat an offensive team was a very nice surprise from him. His final assist, although on an empty-netter, was an example of how, with the Habs under pressure, in the final moments of a game, he can really take charge of the situation. He stole the puck, fed it to Higgs, 4-2. His first 2 assists of the night came on very similar plays and what I consider to be one of the best plays in all of hockey, the intentional off target point shot. Whether those shots were intended to miss the target or not they got Miller going to one side and the puck came to the other, beautiful.



Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Kyle Chipchura
- The goal was a bonus tonight for him. It is for his defensive play that he gets in here tonight, great work along the boards and in the corners in both ends

Steve Begin
- Steve didn't do much offensively tonight, but that is okay, that's not what we need him for. Tonight he was forechecking, he was hitting and he was just generally throwing the Sabres off their game plan

Christopher Higgins
- More or less invisible through the first 2 periods. In the third, however, he was back to his old self, winning most of his battles and putting 2 home

Defencemen

Mark Streit
- Streit had a decent game offensively, manning the point, but it is for his defensive play in this game that he gets into the dome. Streit was ever-visible in our end tonight. He had a handful of great defensive plays, especially in the first two periods

Roman Hamrlik
- Didn't necessarily dominate tonight, but made very few mistakes with the puck and seemed to find himself in the right spot on a number of occasions

Goaltender

Cristobal Huet
- A lot of great saves, and although he let in 2, he did what he had to do to get us the win. Not his best puckhandling game, but luckily he did nothing that cost us too much



Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...

This may have been Kovalev's quietest game of the young season, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. He didn't score or get any points, nor did his linemates, but again he created space for his teamates just by drawing 2 and sometimes 3 defenders. Tonight Kovy gave us another great demonstration of his defensive capabilities he even threw a mean bodycheck at one point in the 3rd. He also had 2 or 3 great 4 on 4 shifts paired with Saku. It is always good to see that considering with the Habs OT is always a possibility.

Kovalev's Assessment - Good



Overall Comments

It was a great game tonight, a lot of end to end action all night and at times both teams looked like sure bets to get the 2 points. It wasn't a game dominated by one team or the other, more like a game played between two evenly matched teams and it was exciting. I think we will be able to play with these Sabres all year which is good news for us as I take that as a sign of our constant improvement.

Tonight I didn't see much of Saku, who was quite sick all day. Despite being sick Saku played anyway, probably one reason was to be there to accept his NHL award, the King Clancy Trophy, but more importantly as to not let down the hundreds of cancer patients and survivors, a lot of them young innocent children, in attendance for the Habs' annual 'Hockey Fights Cancer' game. We didn't see much of Kovalev, Ryder or Markov either, yet we still got the win. To me that shows the makings of a true team. It wasn't that our stars played badly, it was more that our depth players stepped up. We showed that we do indeed have depth and that we can win using this depth. The most exciting part about this season to me is the depth we have at the defence position. With Hamrlik, Markov and Komi all capable of 24-28 minutes the team is in good hands at the back and much more stable than in previous years.

After a tough week this game felt like a must-win and the team did just that, turning a tough week into a decent week. Hopefully we have learned some lessons this week and we can move on as a team in the right direction.