I’m torn between wanting Detroit to continue their insane playoff streak and seeing how Red Wings fans who don’t even remember what not being in the playoffs feels like react to missing them.
What a fantastic, dominant first period from the Habs. The Red Wings were the scrambling mess we often see from the Habs’ blueline.
PK on the PK sighting! Fantastic.
Note: I said that last thing after the first period.
Yeah, so this second period… can we get rid of it?
Seriously, the Habs were pretty terrible in the second. So bad that their domination was completely reversed. Completely. It’s like you flipped the fancy stats upside down. Here’s the game page on Extra Skater.
Some weird calls against Detroit in that second, even though they killed off those Habs power plays. What a save by Jimmy Howard on Thomas Vanek. The Red Wings site sucks, so I couldn’t pull the highlight.
That Vanek pass on the David Desharnais goal, though. I’m really hoping Vanek likes it here.
Habs switching up D-pairings with Emelin playing with Subban. You like?
What was with that Subban turnover/cross-ice pass thing that resulted in that Detroit goal? He was just making a boneheaded, dumb, play, that’s all. He doesn’t lack hockey smarts, as I saw in my Twitter timeline a bunch of times tonight. He makes mistakes. It’s allowed. Not by Therrien, but it’s allowed. The same people that bash him defend Douglas Murray. He’s still one of the most brilliant hockey players in the game, even though he can’t seem to get his wits together in front of Mike Babcock for some reason.
But no, Subban did not have a banner night. He passed to everyone on the Canadiens, and then passed to half of the Red Wings. As the excellent Marc-Antoine Godin put it on Twitter: “Subban trying to participate in all the goals tonight, no matter the team.” (Bad Laura Translation From The French)
The third period was just insanity. Defense-optional games are so fun. Terrifying, yes, but so fun. It just kind of reinforces, though, how unprepared these teams are for the playoffs. If the Habs could figure out their defense, though, they’d be contenders. Le sigh.
Tomases Tatar and Plekanec among the best players on the ice tonight, although Vanek was a wizard as well.
Max Pacioretty is actually underrated elsewhere, I think.
Overall: The Habs took it to the Red Wings possessionwise in the first, then the Wings took it to the Habs after that, but the Habs won, because luck is a thing. Stats are fun and easy.
Four in a row. These Habs are better than their record and their play. We all know it. Troubling noises from Marc Bergevin today, hinting that Therrien will be re-signed. Andrew disagrees, but I am freaking out.
EOTP Third Star: TrevaDaddy with “We all know clutch is only developed through long bus rides during one’s OHL years.” (Here’s the context.)
EOTP Second Star: courtnall and his kids and apples with peanut butter. Thanks for the win, guys!
EOTP First Star: Hag with “The Habs are playing like they don’t have a Murray in the world.”
