Pregame:
Now available!
Now available!
PJ Stock discussing coaches who have recently been dismissed and how you can’t treat players today the way old school coaches do, much how you can’t teach your kids today the way we were taught when we were kids. I’m not 100% on that because I believe we’re raising kids whose every emotion is overvalidated these days, but that’s a whole other topic.
Anyway we’re about to dive into a game between two good teams smarting from recent bad games so this is sure to be a good one.
Here we go!
First period:
- Both teams have shown up to play, lots of action in first two minutes
- First penalty of the game goes to Christian Ehrhoff, and let’s see what happens with the beleaguered powerplay!
- Acutally, look away. Nothing to see here. Thanks to the announcers for reminding us that only Buffalo has fewer powerplay goals than the Habs.
- David Perron‘s favourite player growing up was Alex Kovalev. He grew up in the summers practicing taking two weeks off at a time then picking moments to dazzle.
- Christian Thomas with the Habs’ first great chance in 14 minutes. It’s the night where the Christians are doing everything.
- Announcers beg to differ seconds later, with the game’s first great chance by Craig Adams. And the best save of the game so far by Carey Price, whose framed headshot should be hanging in every Habs fan household by now.
- The Bell Centre just woke up with another great save by Price, on Downie. Until now, I had wondered if there was something wrong with my audio.
- You saw from the closeup on Max that he knew he had that one. Pacioretty with the first goal of the game! Unassisted. God love ya Max. 1-0, good guys.
- Evegeni Malkin. At the end of the season, I would like to see a compilation of all the slump-shouldered players who fail to score on Carey Price. Like in slo-mo, with closeups, and some Sarah MacLachlan soundtrack.
- We’re starting the second period on a powerplay.
Second period:
- Powerplay looked better but yielded nothing really but a two-on-one shorthanded chance for Pittsburgh.
- I’m all, “Who’s 60?”
- The fourth line looks great against the Crosby line. Therrien’s got balls.
- Penalty on Alexei Emelin, which is nothing new, but to my eye was no worse than Sidney Crosby holding on Max Pacioretty and no one, including the announcers, said a word about it. Big PK coming up. Huge.
- Price clearing the puck all by himself again, and with the huge save on David-thank-god-I’m-not-an-Oiler Perron
- Bupkes for Pittsburgh on the powerplay, who apparently have their own struggling powerplay.
- Well, at least now we’ve graduated to calling him “The veteran Sergei Gonchar” versus “The 40-year-old Gonchar.” Whatever you want to call him, he’s great. Just perfect for his job.
- The Habs really aren’t letting the Penguins do anything and you’ve got to give them credit for that. I’m prepping for a Crosby hissy fit.
- Despres is kind of a dumbass. Despres, your frustrations are showing!
- Bad luck. Evgeni Malkin ties the game with just over a minute left in the second.
- Notwithstanding the inability to produce on the powerplay, to my eye, the Habs have made an honest team-wide 40-minute effort. Shots even at 22.
Third period:
- Both teams come out blazing.
- Every time I see the ice level camera’s angle, I think, “Wow. Hockey is hard.”
- The Bell Centre faithful call a too many men penalty on Pittsburgh that the refs eventually concur with. Smartest fans in hockey.
- Horrible, horrible, horrible ensuing powerplay. Habs don’t play again until Wednesday. Expect to hear about the powerplay for the next 96 hours.
- Plekanec’s backcheck after that Subban turnover should put to rest any flirting with trading Plekanec conversations.
- What planet is Carey Price from? It’s not planet Earth.
- “A struggling powerplay that is two for the last 32 has a chance to win the game for Pittsburgh” with seven minutes left is the silliest sentence ever.
- I know it’s hard to be perfect when you have to be talking all the time but it’s kind of your job, yo.
- Oh, the save by Price. OH THE SAVE BY PRICE.
- Oh the $%*#@ offside.
- Pittsburgh’s powerplay is now officially two for the last 34.
- I cannot believe Pacioretty missed that one. You can’t either. He can’t either. My mom just called. She said, “I can’t believe he missed that.”
- Crosby and Perron trying to be all fancy wancy and end up just looking silly.
- One minute to go.
- Third period over, we’re headed to overtime. I’m reluctant to tell you what my record with these top six minutes pieces is when we go to OT.
Overtime:
- Sidney Crosby gets an all-alone chance right off the face off. It’s nothing for Price. Be right back, extracting my heart from my throat.
- Can we get out of the D ZONE OH MY GOD EMELIN
- Emelin just saved the game. I repeat, Emelin just saved the game.
- Too many men call, and now it’s a 4-on-3 for Pittsburgh. Pleks lost his stick.
- And Crosby scores. No surprise there, but I was still hoping.
- Very deflating. I had fun watching that though.
- But hey, we got a point though, eh?
Highlights
Pacioretty opens the scoring
Price stands tall
