Habs Steal Sundin's Thunder in 5-0 Thumping of Leafs
by Kevin van Steendelaar on Feb 11, 2012 10:18 PM EST
in Habs Game Recaps
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You'd think that when a team is honoring it's all-time scoring leader, that you'd see some offense, right? Well in this case the answer would be no.
Prior to tonight's game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens, the Leafs honored Mats Sundin's No.13 sweater. It was a brief, but heartwarming ceremony, which was concluded by an emotional and motivating speech by Sundin.
With Sundin's words in their minds, and facing their oldest rival, you'd expect some momentum from the home town team. It certainly didn't happen in a 5-0 Canadiens win.
Carey Price made 32 saves on the night for his fourth shutout of the season. Goaltending at the other end was a disaster and pretty well deflated the rest of the Leafs on the night. Toronto held the upper hand in shots and Corsi/Fenwick, but when your goaltender drops the ball, not much else really matters in the end game.
Both teams were held scoreless in the first period, with the Leafs outshooting the Canadiens 14-8.
The Canadiens would only manage seven shots in the second period, but were able to put four goals behind James Reimer.
Erik Cole was the first, at 5:01, when he snapped a wrist shot through Reimer's five hole, on a shot the goaltender should easily have handled. Rene Bourque added the Canadiens second goal 1:44 later, one-timing a perfect pass from Tomas Plekanec.
Max Pacioretty added to his team-leading goal tally, on the powerplay at 15:54, sitting in the slot and again taking advantage of the hole between Reimer's pads.
Lars Eller then made it 4-0, three minutes later. The Canadiens center embarrassed Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf, icing on the cake after the Leafs defender made two lackluster efforts to keep the puck in the Habs end.
Eller's offensive game was perhaps overshadowed by his great work of shutting down the Leafs power play on the night. Overall the Canadiens penalty kill shut down the Leafs on all five occasions, limiting them to just five shots on goal.
With that it would be Reimer out, and Jonas Gustavsson in to start the third period. A lot of good that did as on the Canadiens capitalized on their first chance. Mathieu Darche's breakaway goal on the Monster at 1:24 was set up on a perfect clearing play by Price to Plekanec who then sent Darche on his way.
The Leafs continued to press for at least some respectability in the goal column, but were foiled by Price with some help from the goal posts.
David Desharnais had two assists and was 11-8 in the faceoff circle, enough to pick up a Third Star selection. Alexei Emelin continues to get better and better, laying out nine hits and playing 18:05 on the blueline.
The Canadiens return home to Montreal to face the Carolina Hurricanes, and former assistant coach Kirk Muller, on Monday.
Three Stars: 1. Carey Price 2. Tomas Plekanec 3. David Desharnais
Advanced Stats: Shift Charts / Head to Head / Corsi & Fenwick
Canadiens vs Maple Leafs coverage
Losing reaction, and man are they upset, at our SBN partners Pension Plan Puppets
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YEAH!
Two more vs. the Leafs this year, three more vs. Ottawa, two vs. Florida and two vs. Washington. 18 points up for grabs… can we beat the opposition by 7 points in those nine games? There’s also one game against the Devils, but they’re still 11 points away but I could see them stumbling.
We’re in a real shit spot right now. But we belong with those playoff race teams and not with the cellar dwellers. I don’t think a lottery pick is believable even with coaching I don’t believe is compatible to a win now mentality.
Can we make this much of a run with an agenda placed more on identifying and playing the players who will be around next year than giving the team the best chance to win now? I’m still incredibly skeptical that this can be done.
But we’re back to an even goal differential, and its +5 now when you remove shootout records, dead even with Toronto. Winnipeg is still ahead of us and they’re a -22 for the year. ugh
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There is no way in hell we grab a lottery spot. Randy isn’t Bowman, but he won everywhere he went, which means he must know how to coach in a certain way. The team is finally settling back at a level that looks kinda sorta like the level they had before Gomez went down in November (a bit lower actually). It pretty much makes sense; this team has too many good players not to compete and there are so many players who took step forward since the beginning of the season.
Makes me all the more annoyed by Gauthier firing Martin and sending the season in the ditch simply because these guys can’t differentiate correctly the process from the results.
7 games left.....
That’s right….7 games left until the Trade deadline and then we’re off to the races one way or the other officially. In these 7 games there are 3 that will be difficult. Wed. this week at home with Boston. Next Tuesday at home to Dallas and that Friday vs. Washington. We also play Sun. 26th in Florida and then resting over in Tampa pending our game there Tuesday evening. At the time of this writing I have no idea what flight PG will be booked on from 9am to 2pm EST Monday February 27th. I mean he flew to Atlanta last year on deadline day and that seemed to work out okay for the team……………..
Right….and if that happens again I hope there are more than a few lobotomies being ordered up for the management team of the Montreal Canadiens.
Back to my point above regarding the balance of February’s schedule. It’s extremely winnable. Especially the way we are playing right now. The team is getting goals from all parts of the line-up and our PP has been kicking into gear as of late with a few markers. The Defense has been very sharp in blocking shots and clearing pucks from our end. Our forwards are doing a much better job in puck control, getting shots on the net, winning the battles on the boards and getting some much needed goals and not sitting back. Lastly, Mr. Price has been Mr. Price. Even though he’s taken a lot of flak this year about not stopping every shot or rebound he has kept this team competitive all year. There have been many a post saying that CP doesn’t have his head in the game. Well if anyone watched our 5th goal Saturday night that should tell you all you need to know about that theory. Full of crap. That assist on the goal was pure heads up play on his part. He’s been doing that all year and I’m just so surprised he’s only got 2 assists from his puck handling skills.
Go Habs Go
I tell ya….this is going to be an interesting two weeks to watch.
"It's only through change we learn to grow".
After tonight, the playoffs are genuinely implausable
as opposed to completely inconceivable. PROGRESS PEOPLE.
Am I reading this right?
Sundin Leafs career +/- is +99, 2nd in franchise history (according to NHL Tonight).
That +/- would tie him for 29th with the Habs.
by TrevaDaddy on Feb 12, 2012 8:26 AM EST via mobile reply actions
+/- wasn’t tracked until the Leafs started sucking, I believe.
The 1970s NHL were about the opposite of the parity that today’s league is.
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by Bruce Peter on Feb 12, 2012 10:49 AM EST up reply actions
Ryan White
Might be suspended in the AHL for a high-sticking incident involving Nazem Kadri. Usually AHL suspensions aren’t honoured by the NHL, so… not sure if this is relevant since he was going to be called up for next week anyways.
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If you think I wrote some defeatist columns...
Man, this is depressing and I don’t even like the Oilers, though I do like their blogs.
The Oilers are REALLY lucky they’re located in Edmonton. If they were in a soft market they’d be going bankrupt.
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Tough minutes skilled winger + Plekanec = win
The injuries are risky though but I guess that would make him a fit here. ;)
Also this quote:
The man who grew from slick-passing, jaw-droppingly skilled offensive winger into a tough minutes beater in front of our eyes has 15 days left as an Oiler. Six games. Enjoy them.
Encapsulate everything that is wrong with the Oilers right now, it’s kind of heartbreaking to read.
The way they’re managed right now, you can almost predict the future. They’ll build up their young stars, giving them soft minutes to have them produce, in a way to sell the rebuild. Then when they’ll move on to tougher minutes (and probably becoming better overall and more valuable players in the process) because the organisation has some shiny new prospects to sell, get traded because they can’t live up to the inflated RFA contract that those previously mentionned soft minutes got them. Rince. Repeat.
And that’s what some people want the habs to do when they mention trading Plekanec, Crazy. And sad, Oilers fan deserves better than that.
by Statsfanatic81 on Feb 12, 2012 3:24 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
What I think is insane is how much better they expect the young players to be on their own that they’d willingly ditch their safety net players, their good veterans to try and compete. This team wanted to trade Sam Gagner all year, too, and might still do so, simply because they can’t trade Horcoff and they believe RNH will be better.
Rumour has it Boston wants an Edmonton forward, and I’d presume it would be Hemsky given their cap space. I’m okay with Boston making that trade so long as Hemsky doesn’t resign and the Bruins don’t win the Cup again. But I fear I’d be asking too much.
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I’ve joked that Edmonton’s rebuild will consist of trading Gagner in 2012, Smid in 2013, Gilbert in 2014, Horcoff in 2015, nobody in 2016 (have to let the team gel so they can compete), and Taylor Hall in 2017. What a mess of an organization.
Something has me thinking that Gagner’s Gretzky streak will have the Oilers hold off on dealing him. I would be shopping him this week to see if there’s some GM thinking he’s “turned the corner” but I would also be looking to re-sign Hemsky and sign defensemen better than Andy Sutton.
by Roke on Feb 12, 2012 3:13 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Anyone know if Hemsky can play the left side?
Hemsky – Plekanec – Gionta as a tough minutes line would be awesome.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Feb 12, 2012 4:35 PM EST up reply actions
I’ve only ever seen him play right. Which is the issue, Montreal already have Cole and Gionta for Hemsky’s job. Plus a truck load of RW prospects. He doesn’t look like at good fit in Montreal.
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by Stephan Cooper on Feb 12, 2012 6:24 PM EST up reply actions
Assuming the Semin and Parise are out of the question Kostitsyn and Penner are probably the best bet for LW signings. I haven’t taken a look at the UFA group in a while so I may be forgetting someone.
I’m hoping that they sign Kostitsyn and Penner. That would solidify the top 9 even without Gomez and even if we climb too far and don’t grab Grigorenko.
Pacioretty – Plekanec – Gionta
Penner – Eller – Cole
Bourque – Desharnais – Kostitsyn
Three possible 30 goal scorers, four possible 20-25 goal scorers, two guys who should get 15 each at least. For argument’s sake we’ll say 2 guys hit 25 and 2 hit 20. That’s 220 goals from the top 9. More than the team scored all of 2010-11.
Of course this assumes zero injuries, but even if that’s a maximum if all goes well, that’s a good starting point.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Feb 12, 2012 10:07 PM EST up reply actions
Break up the security blanket?
Wow……I don’t know Andrew…..“change” some people have a hard time dealing with that concept. You’re asking RC to demote Quebec’s favourite son to the 3rd line and strip him of his 2 soul mates. Did the Earth start spinning the other way in your universe? Just imagine wwhat those 400 protesters would be yelling at the 1st Saturday night game?
In honesty, I don’t have a problem with it. I’ve thought all along that one of Cole or Pax should have been moved to Ellers line. The guy will never get a chance to improve his offensive skills without some skilled guys on his line. He’ll be forced to make one on one plays like he did against Phaneuf Saturday night. When he gets this part of his game down he’s going to resemble Jordan Stahl of Pittsburgh. A really tough rangy guy who is difficult to defend.
"It's only through change we learn to grow".
by Canadian Jet on Feb 13, 2012 4:50 AM EST up reply actions
I’m not sure Andrew is projecting lines, or just creating his own depth chart.
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Lines that I’d like to see.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Feb 13, 2012 11:08 AM EST up reply actions
Funny thing is it’s also good for Desharnais to show what he can do without insulation.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Feb 13, 2012 11:08 AM EST up reply actions
I actually think he could handle himself without Pacioretty and Cole in a third line role, especially with Kostitsyn who, while not as dominant as the formers in a tough minutes role, can still handle it and tends to thrive in those soft minutes. Didn’t they do great together (along with Pacioretty) at the beginning of the season? But surely, that’s something you would ideally like to know before the end of the season. Sadly, watching how Randy seems almost scared of breaking up that line, I don’t think we will.
Personally, I find it kind of funny when people get mad at the mere suggestion that this line could be broken up. I’ve read people who argued that DD is the reason why Cole and Pacioretty are scoring and that they wouldn’t work with anyone else. Despite the fact that Pacioretty scored alot without him last season. I do think that DD is a very good passer but saying his passes are the reason they score is kind of pushing it.
Those two score (like all consistant scorers ) by putting up a ton of shots and, like all scorers, they will have streak where everything is going in and streaks where nothing is. Pacioretty himself had a streak like that like 10-15 games ago and he had it playing with DD. Nobody thought DD couldn’t pass because Pacioretty wasn’t scoring.
Hell, I read someone that used Eller’s awesome goal as a proof that DD was a better center since Eller scored instead of passing the puck to Palushaj. That would really really be pushing it, especially since, rewatching the goal, Palushaj doesn’t seem to be in the greatest spot to receive a pass.
by Statsfanatic81 on Feb 13, 2012 12:48 PM EST up reply actions
Couldn’t agree more with everything you said.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Feb 13, 2012 5:05 PM EST up reply actions
I don’t see where he fits. We already have a tonne of RW and both he and White play the right side.:
Cole
Leblanc
Darche
Akost
Are the RW right now. Palushaj played the LW last night, and now I guess you can slide both Darche and AKost on the LW and then what?
Pacio/Desharnais/Cole
Darche/Pleks/Leblanc
Palushaj/Eller/White
AKost/Gomez/Schultz?
Beats me.
Weber is apparently on the IR now. But I’d still assume the team would want to dress 7 D.
Ian Schultz, you’ve got to be freaking kidding me. The Randys didn’t even play him much last year.
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That’s the whole thing. Calling up someone else is already kind of odd, given the 11F-7D scheme RC’s been following, but why him? What does he bring, really, except fisticuffs?
At this point, not much more. Maybe they feel he’s where White was when White got called up in 2009. I don’t know. I remember being confused by the White callup when it happened back then, he was a AHL 3rd liner (much like Schultz is now).
Funny thing, both are Calgary Hitmen grads. So Doogie2K must be pumped.
Does Nokelainen even exist anymore? Or is he hurt and I just don’t know about it (like how Weber being put on IR was news to me)?
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by Bruce Peter on Feb 12, 2012 10:02 PM EST up reply actions
Funny thing, both are Calgary Hitmen grads. So Doogie2K must be pumped.
Ha ha, I absolutely am. And Kris Foucault just got called up by the Wild, too. Can Brandon Kozun be far behind? I hear LA needs some scoring depth.
I still believe in Schultz as a prospect (I should do; I have my jersey crested with his name on it), because I saw too much good stuff out of him that wasn’t fighting to think he can’t make it as a bottom-six/PK guy. I’d love to know what kind of ice he’s seeing, and if he’s been HS’d or injured, because superficially, 13 points and +3 in 36 GP on a team that’s -29 in 49 GP seems pretty decent.
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I’ve heard that the line he’s on has been quite strong, but a lot of people were crediting Gabriel Dumont, who’s the same age and plays C and also had Memorial Cup experience with Drummondville. If there’s things Schultz has over Dumont, it’s definitely in the size/toughness department.
Encouraging year from him for sure, but I don’t know if we’ll see him play at all even after the trade deadline and some spots potentially open up. I think it’s still much too early for him.
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by Bruce Peter on Feb 14, 2012 11:40 PM EST up reply actions
Aren’t you forgetting Bourque in that lineup? Or is he injured too?
Also, I really hope Randy doesn’t fall in love with Schultz like he did with Blunden. Not to insult Blunden since I’m sure he’s a great guy and all but I think him being out is actually helping us win since Randy was really overusing him. Not only overusing him, but overusing him over better hockey players and in roles he couldn’t handle.
by Statsfanatic81 on Feb 13, 2012 12:53 PM EST up reply actions
I’ve heard he’s had a really strong stretch of games recently. That probably has something to do with it.
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by Stephan Cooper on Feb 13, 2012 2:30 AM EST up reply actions
Can you Spell: Boston on Wednesday night
I’m sure he’s here for our favourite buddies coming to town for a mid week tilt and then back to the farm. I’d expect St. Denis back up.
"It's only through change we learn to grow".
Why not Ryan White? Bring the suspension circumvention full circle.
Last season, Kadri was suspended by the AHL, so Burke called him up right away. Alas, Nazem needed to be sent down eventually, thereby serving his suspension a few weeks after it was handed down.
by Spezzal Teams Playa on Feb 13, 2012 5:59 AM EST up reply actions
With Weber hurt and Markov still out, and Gill and Campoli as potential trade bait, St. Denis might indeed find his way back to Montreal.
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No kidding.
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Robertson's Rants - Exceedingly occasional, lengthy ramblings on hockey topics, hosted at Puck Podcast. And no, my name's not Doug.
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