Mike Boone's Online Eeee-mail

Downie takes out Sid

Mike Boone — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:31:33 -0400

First Brooks Orpik slams Steven Stamkos with a perfectly legal check.

Then when the play swings up ice, Steve Downie tries to slam Sidney Crosbie down and then lands on his knee.

This league won't be happy until all its stars are in wheelchairs.

Sunday Video Theatre

Mike Boone — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:03:19 -0400

Nothing to do with hockey, but a great commercial (tip of the HIO tuque to chief video scout Jarred Friedman).

• • •

Final word on the Subbanators:

Either bar those schmucks from the building or rename it the Jolson Centre.

• • •

Either we've got technical problems or I totally suck:

Comments on a Thursday night game against the worst team in the NHL: 1,018

Comments after a Saturdanight HNIC game against the haterd Bruins: 647

About last night ...

Mike Boone — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:35:28 -0500

Feeling good with your Montreal Canadiens four points clear of those not-so-big, not-very-bad-anymore Boston Bruins?

Want to feel even better?

May I suggest a short stroll down memory lane.

A year ago, this team was in disarray.

Kovalev vs. Koivu for leadership of the room. Off-ice scandals. On-ice garbage, most nights.

Guy Carbonneau, who was in the Hockey Night in Canada booth last night, had been fired on the day the Canadiens returned from a road trip o which they'd lost two of three games.

The team won Bob Gainey's first game behind the bench, then lost the next five beforte scraping out enough wins to ride four losses into the playoffs.

We remember what happened in the postseason: El Sweepo at the paws of the dastardly Bruins.

That was then.

And while there are still a dozen regular-season games to play and several rivals alive for playoff spots, I think we can agree this now is much more gratifying than that then.

There's a long list of positives, so let's reel 'em off:

• Andrei Markov skated around the question when Pat Hickey put it to him, but the advantage of his early-season inactivity is the Canadiens' leader is fresh for the stretch run. Markov's 33rd game was one of his best. A goal, an assist and masterful control of he tempo at both ends every time he was on the ice.

• As Craig Rivet, Sheldon Souray and Mike Komisarek could have told him, Ryan O'Byrne is playing his best hockey of the season as Markov's physical, stay-at-home partner.

• Jaro Halak has won five in a row. When he saved the team's ass last year, Jaro's W streak was four. That third period stop on Marco Sturm was a game-saver. Jaro is the Canadiens' Number 1 goalie: end of story ... for now.

• Team D: Dominic Moore talked about taking time and space away from the Bruins. The team is skating, working hard at both ends of the ice and forcing opponents to make fast decisions. Jaro has not faced 40-plus shots since stoning the Bruins with 45 saves in Boston on Feb. 4.

• Props to the pro scouting department that Pierre Gauthier was running before he succeeded Bob Gainey.

– The early-season signing of Marc-André Bergeron saved the Canadiens' power play after Markov went down.

– Guillaume Latendresse is scoring in Minnesota, but Benoit Pouliot has WAY more upside and has saved the season for Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta.

– Dominic Moore is a revelation. The guy skates all night and he's not afraid to go into the dirty areas to fight for loose pucks. He's developing terrific chemistry with Sergei Kostitsyn, and their speed and skill is nicely complemented by Travis Moen's grit and work ethic. This is the best third line the team has had in a long time.

• The fourth line chipped in with 11 quality minutes. Maxim Lapierre and Mathieu Darche had six and five hits, respectively.

• No goons? No problem. Instead of Georges Laraque chasing Milan Lucic around and asking him to fight, Andrei Kostitsyn caught Lootch unawares and knocked him on his no-longer-intimidating ass. Shawn Thornton and Steve Bégin were invisible.

• Special teams had a very good night: PP was 1-for-3 and the PK was perfect on three shorthanded situations.

• Yeah, he makes too much money. But can Scott Gomez motor or what. Those flights through the neutral zone are some of the prettiest rushes we've seen since number 10 was flying down right wing.

• Player who benefitted most from the Olympic break? Gotta be Jaro Spacek. Playing brutal minutes while adjusting to the right side, Spatch struggled through tghe early part of the season. But he's a smart, albeit undersized, Dman whose plus-10 is a team best. Spacek was superb against Boston, and he tied Brian Gionta for the game lead with four SoG.

• As demonstrated by his wipeout of Lucic, Andrei Kostitsyn is strong as an ox. The guy is so gifted in so many facets of the game. He and Tomas Plekanec are primed to explode when Mike Cammalleri comes back.

A year ago, the only thing exploding was Bob Gainey's head as he watched his Canadiens stumble and bumble into and quickly out of the playoffs.

The late-season fold was so disillusioning Gainey blew up his team last summer.

We've spent 70 games assessing the makeover, and there have been nights when many of us wondered what hath Bob wrought?

The season isn't over.

If it takes 90 points to make the playoffs, the Canadiens will need 14 from their last dozen games.

Not easy ... but a lot more do-able than we thought before the Olympics.

And no matter what happens, there's the satisfaction of taking five of six games from Boston.

Spend St. Paddy's sucking on that, Bruins fans.

• • •

It's been two weeks since we've had a great Sunday hockey game.

Maybe the Hawks and Caps will deliver.

Puck drops at 12:30.

Huge win

Mike Boone — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 09:24:08 -0500

Five of six against the Bs this season

Six of eight possible points on the road trip.

Three straight at home, five straight overall.

The Canadiens are officially hot.

About last night ...

Mike Boone — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:36:04 -0500

Friend and colleague Patrick V. Hickey summed up the mood of the media succinctly as we boarded the elevator to head down to the Canadiens' dressing room:

"A game like that," Hickey sighed, "and now we have to interview the Kostitsyn brothers."

I didn't stick around the room long enough to hear clichés tumble out of the mouths of Sergei and Andrei in halting English.

What could they or anyone else say about a game in which the Canadiens were lucky to take points from the worst team in the league?

This one won't be in the Second Century Classic DVD collection.

Several fans used the Comments section to venture the opinion that the Canadiens play to the level of their opponents.

There's something to that.

With the exception of the Dominic Moore-Travis Moen-SK74 line and occasional flashes from Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta and Benoit Pouliot, the forwards were incapable of exerting the kind of sustained pressure that should have buried the hapless Oilers early.

It was also a long night on the back end.

A worrisome sign, during an otherwise boring and entirely forgettable game, was the difficulty the D experienced with Edmonton's aggressive, oversized forwards.

Dustin Penner was a one-man wrecking crew. Maybe a Zdeno Chara or Chris Pronger can stop that big moose from going to the net when he wants to. But no one wearing a red jersey – least of all Jaro Spacek, whom Penner brutalized all night – was able to even slightly impede the power forward's bull rushes.

Maybe it was the frequent sight of an onrushing Penner that unnerved Jaroslav Halak. The goaltender did not have one of his better nights.

The Shawn Horcoff goal that tied the game at 4-4 was Edmonton's 20th shot. A save percentage of 80.0 is not too impressive for a goaltender who came into the game having stopped 92.4 per cent of what he's faced this season.

Jaro was impeccable, however, in OT and the shootout, lifting his career-best win total to 21.

At the risk of igniting yet another tiresome Comments shootout between Priceians and Halakites, may I suggest it's typical of this season that Jaro won on an off-night while anything less than his A-game has doomed luckless Carey.

What is untypical of the season is the recent ineptitude of the power play.

Canadiens came up empty in seven man-advantage situations, including a 1:17 5-on-3 and a 4-on-3 in OT, when you'd think all that open ice would be a day at the beach for the swift, skilled Canadiens.

Since returning from the Olympic break, the Canadiens have won five of six. But the power play has gone 0-for against Boston, L.A., Anaheim and Edmonton. The PP is 2-for-21 since the schedule resumed.

There was, as Jacques Martin suggested in his press conference, good puck control and passing on the power play last night. But there weren't enough shots and the Canadiens were plagued by brain cramps – notably Andrei Markov, who was otherwise excellent, twice losing the pucks fed back to the blueline.

The PP also was plagued by lack of net presence.

The Canadiens don't have a Dustin Penner or Johan Franzen/Thomas Holmstrom to wreak havoc at the edge of the blue paint. But during a first-period penalty to Tom Gilbert, Martin used Mathieu Darche on his first-wave PP and the hard-working fourth-liner happily camped himself close enough to annoy Edmonton goaltender Devan Dubnyk.

Darche continues to be a late-season revelation. The guy is fearless and works his butt off on every shift.

Moore is similarly tenacious, with the added advantage of strong skating. He and Moen benefit from the playmaking genius of Sergei, who is getting his stuff together in time for the playoff push. SK74 shaked and baked some absolutely sick moves to set up Moen's goal.

Brother Andrei made a sublime saucer pass to spring Tomas Plekanec for the goal that opened the scoring. And AK46 was the only player on either team to score during the shootout.

Two hard-fought points against a team going nowhere and, consequently, playing for contracts with zero pressure.

It will be different on Saturday when the Bruins are in town.

Jaro and his teammates will need their A-game.

• • •

The last time Travis Moen scored, there were still eight shopping days until Christmas.

• • •

Mark Recchi scored for the Bruins last night.

He is within one goal of Guy Lafleur's 560.

That just doesn't seem right.

I mean, Recchi is a terrific hockey player, the more so because he's still playing at the age of 58.

But passing Guy Lafleur?

Get serious.

Never in doubt

Mike Boone — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:41:45 -0500

Against the worst team in the NHL.

Plekanec: Esay save

Potulny: Four great moves and Jaro saves

Gomez: Save

Horcoff: Save

Gionta: Backhand wide

Brulé: Post!

Pouliot: Save

Nilsson: Save

AK46: GOAL!

Gagner: Wide

Enough flex to sign Pleks?

Mike Boone — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:54:52 -0500

Now that we know the Canadiens MVP didn't have his knee destroyed by Mattias Ohlund last night, let's get back to the math problem:

Will the team sign Tomas Plekanec?

And for how much?

Here are the current roster players who are under contract for the 2010-'11 season, with their salaries (data from nhlnumbers.com):

Scott Gomez ....... $8 million

Mike Cammalleri ... $6.25 million

Brian Gionta ..........$5 million

Andrei Kostitsyn .....$3.25 million

Travis Moen ............$1.5 million

Andrei Markov .........$5.75 million

Roman Hamrlik ........$5.5 million

Jaro Spacek .............$3.833 million

Hal Gill ....................$2.25 million

Josh Gorges .............$1.3 million

Ryan O'Byrne ...........$1.4 million

That's a shade over $44 million for 11 players. Plus $1.5 million for Georges Laraque.

Six defencemen are under contract for next season. If, as expected, P.K. Subban makes the team, that will add a modest $875,000 to the payroll.

Five forwards are signed. Most coaches like to play 4 lines, so that's seven more contracts.

Did I mention goaltending?

Carey Price and Jaro Halak are Restricted Free Agents on July 1. One of them will be signing a new contract – well in excess of $850,000 (Price's current salary) or $800,000 (Halak).

Let's say $2 million to $3 million per for goaltending.

We're inching up toward $50 million ... and we still haven't accounted for impending RFAs Benoit Pouliot (who's making $803,000), Sergei Kostitsyn (($585,000) and Maxim Lapierre ($800,000).

Dominic Moore ($1.1 million), Glen Metropolit ($1 million) and Mathieu Darche ($600,000) will be UFAs whom the club may or may not want to re-sign.

Tomas Plekanec is making $2.75 million and having the best season of his career.

He's 10th in the league in scoring among centres with 19 goals and a career-best 44 assists.

Pleks is used on the PP and the PK. He's taken 1,379 faceoffs this season – a total exceeded only by Sidney Crosby and Paul Stastny.

Plekanec is one of only three Canadiens – Kelowna Rockets alumni Travis Moen and Josh Gorges are the others – who have played all 68 games this season. Pleks played 81 games in 2006-'07, 81 in '07-'08 and 80 last season.

We're talking durability (esopecially for a smaller guy) – and desirability, because this will not be a bumper crop for free-agent forwards.

If he doesn't sign by July 1, I rate Plekanec behind only Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrick Marleau among likely UFAs.

He's said he wants to stay in Montreal.

Well and good.

But Plekanec is 27. This summer represents his big kick at the free-agent can.

What kind of contract might he command on the open market?

Here are some comparables:

Tim Connolly is signed for two seasons in Buffalo at $4.5 per.

Stastny will make $6.6 million in each season of his five-year contract in Colorado.

I'd have laughed off any comparison to Ryan Getzlaf last summer, but Pleks has two points more than Anaheim's top centre, who's making $5.125 million in the second year of a five-year deal that tops out at $6.125 million.

Jeff Carter is at $5 million and will make $5.5 next season.

Jason Spezza is working on a contract that pays him $45 million over six years.

Is there a general manager willing to offer Tomas Plekanec $5 million or $6 million per?

Is that general manager's name Pierre Gauthier?

Stay tuned.

About last night ...

Mike Boone — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:59:29 -0500

As befits the team's hottest player, Scott Gomez offered the most succinct analysis of your seemingly-playoff-bound Montreal Canadiens:

"We're starting to look like the team we should have been all year."

And they're still missing two important players: sniper Mike Cammalleri and power-play specialist Marc-André Bergeron.

Despite their absence, the Canadiens are playing like the team Professor Gainey may have envisaged when he started stitching components together last summer.

Gomez and Gionta aren't as young as they were when they broke in with New Jersey. But energized by the addition of Benoit Pouliot, the former Devils are playing their best hockey of the season.

And they picked a good time to peak.

The win moved the Canadiens seven points ahead of Tampa Bay. It was crucial because the Lightning have played three fewer games. Even if they win them all – and the team we saw last night doesn't look capable of that – TB would still be a point behind the Canadiens.

Similar story with the Rangers: five points back with two games in hand.

Atlanta trails the Canadiens by six points, but even if the Thrashers were to win their three games in hand, they'd have fewer Ws than the Canadiens and would be behind per the tie-breaking formula.

But all these scenarios aside, the Canadiens control their destiny.

"They're going to win all the rest of their games," my friend Mitch Melnick was saying – in jest, I think – after the game.

A 17-game winning streak?

Not likely ... but possible.

Before the Olympic break, a late-season surge would have been inconceivable.

But the team that looked doomed to early tee-offs after dropping back-to-back games against Philadelphia seems to have benefited hugely from 17 days off.

Maybe it was a good thing that Brian Burke snubbed Gomez and Gionta for Team USA.

I doubt Glen Metropolit was short-listed for Team Canada, and he's recaptured his early-season form. Playing in his 400th NHL game, Metro scored his career-best 15th goal – his ninth on the PP.

Roman Hamrlik and Jaro Spacek – who had to play brutal minutes during Andrei Markov's long absence – weren't picked for the Games and are well-rested for the stretch run.

I think one of the little-heralded keys to the Canadiens' surge has been stability on defence.

The three pairings have been together since the regular-season resumed and are playing equal, low 20s minutes (except for Ryan O'Byrne, who gets no PP and little PK time).

The D is still smallish and susceptible to the kind of aggressive forecheck they endured in San Jose.

There are, however, fewer sharks in the Eastern Conference. The slot if being protected, rebounds are being cleared, shots are blocked (21 last night, five by Hal Gill) and zone clearances are rarely laborious.

A tightened-up D and four forward lines able to spend stretches ion the opponents' end – props to the Dominic Moore/Travis Moen/Sergei Kostitsyn unit on that score – have made life easier for the Canadiens' goaltenders.

Jaro Halak was not spectacular last night. But he made the saves he had to in racking up win number 20 – a career high.

If Melnick's scenario plays out, maybe we don't see Carey Price until the Canadiens have clinched a playoff spot.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

When a knee-on-knee hit by Mattias Ohlund left Tomas Plekanec flat on the ice, 21,273 at the Bell Centre and all the fans watching RDS held their collective breath and saw the playoffs KOed along with Pleks.

He returned to action, but tghe team MVP will benefit from the rest Jacques Martin is giving his players today.

They've earned it.

• • •

Twice during his postgame press conference, Jacques Martin praised Mathieu Darche's intelligence, as evidenced by the fact he's a graduate of McGill University.

Hey, that's my alma mater, too.

But I majored in Hedonism during the 1960s.

Darche's degree is in economics – and the veteran is playing like he understands the difference between AHL and NHL contracts.

• • •

The return of Mike Cammalleri can't come soon enough for the struggling Pleks line and comatose Andrei Kostitsyn.

The interesting question: What happens when MAB is ready to play?

The power play needs Bergeron, but the D doesn't.

Fourth-line forward?

Probably, with Metro and ...

Tom Pyatt and Ben Maxwell will go back to Hamilton. But Martin will have to pick who – among Darche, Sergei and Maxim Lapierre – watches the game from the pressbox.

• • •

Bulldogs win ninth in a row – a franchise record.

Nice W

Mike Boone — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:38:53 -0500

And crucial, as it drops Tampa Bay seven points back and makes their three in hand less threatening.

It's in the bag!

Mike Boone — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:49:16 -0500

The Canadiens have 15 games left in their regular season: nine at home, six on the road.

A fan offers this analysis of why the Canadiens (for whom he uses the first person plural) are in the catbird seat for a playoff spot because of a favorable schedule:

Of the 15 games we have left, six are against teams currently in playoff position (40%). The average point total of the teams we face going forward is 65.4, a total below the Canadiens'.

Rangers: 16 games left, eight against teams currently in playoff position (50%). Average point total of opponents: 67.4

Lightning: 18 games left, 10 against teams currently in playoff position (56%). Average point total of opponents: 72.5

Thrashers: 18 games left, 12 against teams currently in playoff position (67%). Average point total of opponents: 73.3

Thrashers have the toughest schedule going forward. In their last five games, they face the top three teams in the Eastern Conference: Penguins twice, Capitals twice and the Devils.

The Canadiens, by contrast, end their regular season against the Conference bottom-dwellers: Leafs, Islanders and Hurricanes).

Plan the parade.

About last night ...

Mike Boone — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:57:17 -0500

It wasn't quite the 0-5 comeback against the Rangers.

But a week after The Game, this was quite a game.

Down 3-1 on the road with 110 ticks left in the second game of a back-to-backer ...

The Canadiens kicked open the door of the hurt locker and maybe offered an avatar of what we'll see in the regular season's last 15 games.

OK, last desperate try for an Oscar tie-in.

I promise.

The winner was ... the Canadiens, and the improbable W lifted them into seventh place.

I don't know what to make of it.

For long stretches, the Canadiens were awful. The Ducks weren't any better, and the game was stultifyingly boring

But the Cardiac Kids didn't quit.

And once Jaro Halak replaced Carey Price, the Canadiens picked up their game and exerted enough pressure on the Ducks' defence to set up that dying-seconds fire drill.

Playing against their former captain, the C-less Canadiens gotr great leadership from Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, Andrei Markov .... the list goes on and on.

Say what you will about Bob Gainey blowing up Saku Koivu's Montreal Canadiens, the fact emains thi year's edition plays with more heart and character.

They may not make it to the postseason dance, but it won't be for want of trying.

Some quick-hit thoughts:

The team's number one goaltender will start against Tampa Bay at the Bell Centre on Tuesday. Carey Price was beaten on the Ducks' third and seventh shots of the game. He stopped eight of 11 before getting the hook.

The goals weren't entirely Price's fault. His D was showing the Ducks too much respect, playing way off and backing in on their goaltender.

They tightened up when Jaro came in. He faced 21 shots in 45 minutes and made the stops he had to.

The Canadiens have won 32 games this season. Halak has 19 of them.

It's becoming increasingly obvious they'll have to ride Jaro into the playoffs ... if the Canadiens make it.

That's far from certain.

A tough week awaits: a trans-continental flight, then three games in five nights, two against Eastern Conference rivals chasing playoff spots, TB and Boston.

But this crazy game – I still can't believe either the comeback or Brian Gionta's goal in the shootout – has to give the Canadiens a lift.

And maybe it will light a fire under Andrei Markov, who scored the typing goal in a rage after being slashed by Corey Perry.

Maybe someone should slash Andrei Kostitsyn.

While Plekanec (seven SoG), Gionta (goals in three of the four games on the trip), Scott Gomez and Benoit Pouliot (briefly banished to the fourth line after falling asleep on the Ducks' third goal) play their hearts out, AK skates around in a fog, costing Pleks assists and driving fans to drink (well, at least one fan).

Sergei, on the other hand, played a terrific game. With the Ducks up 3-1 and almost everyone else going through the motions, SK74 hustled on every shift and generated chances for his linemates, Dominic Moore (props to the pro scouts: this guy can play) and Travis Moen (thought he'd do more against his former team, but it is what it is).

It's amazing that a one-line team had 43 shots on goal. And more than three of them would have found the back of the net if the Canadiens had any finishers.

The team desperately needs Mike Cammalleri back.

But it's a tribute to the Canadiens' character that they're winning games without him.

• • •

Why would Randy Carlyle use James Wisniewski instead of Saku Koivu in the shootout?

Stu Hackel, who writes the Slap Shot blog for the Nerw York Times, e-mailed an answer:

Forced to watch the Ducks telecast on the Center Ice package, I learned Wiz scored the last two shootout winners for the Ducks, so Carlyle was playing the alleged hot hand. Of course, they had not gone to the post-game skills competition for something like 30 games, but that is probably why.

• • •

Less than 24 hours after Roman Hamrlik decked Benoit Pouliot, Jaro Halak took out Jaro Spacek.

Hey, Slovaks and Czechs: Why can't we all be friends?

• • •

Mike Cammalleri on Twitter.

A Hollywood ending on Oscar night

Mike Boone — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:57:15 -0500

Trailing 3-1 with less than two minutes left, the Canadiens tie the game and win it on Tomas Plekanec's shootout goal.

Six of eight points on the road trip. Seventh place.

Unreal.

• • •

Hands up everyone who thought this would get to a shootout.

Perry: Save

Markov: Miss

Getzlaf: 5-hole Goal

Gomez: Save

Selanne: Miss

Gionta: Dribbles through Goal! Crazy!!

Wisniewski: Miss

Plekanec: GOAL!!!

Mutual admiration society

Mike Boone — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:19:39 -0500

Jarred Friedman found this video of two Finnish friends, talking about how much they love each other.

About last night ...

Mike Boone — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:30:59 -0500

It's a given that Scott Gomez's contract is ridiculous.

Glen Sather is the Santa Claus of the NHL – Wade Redden: $6 million – and found an elf in Bob Gainey.

But what was Gomez supposed to do? Become the first person in the history of capitalism to decline a raise?

(Detroit Tigers star Al Kaline did once, but I digress.)

Last night in L.A., we saw the skills that bedazzled Sather and Gainey.

Gomez played is best game of the season, centring the only dangerous line wearing white.

Two dominant shifts, at the beginning of the first and third periods, put the Kings back on their royal heels and set the tone for an outstanding team effort that lifted the Canadiens back into eighth place.

Equally impressive was Gomez's play in his own end.

Never forget this is a player who broke in with the New Jersey Devils.

We saw a cum laude graduate of Lou U. last night.

The whole team played like the Devils. From the second period until Fredrik Modin's goal in the third, the Kings went more than 16 minutes without a shot on goal.

In their own building.

That's crazy.

The Canadiens' D played perhaps their best game, as a unit, this season ... even factoring in a mediocre effort, by Markovian standards, from their best player.

Ryan O'Byrne had a fight and blocked four shots. Roman Hamrlik and Jaro Spacek absorbed a ton of hits – L.A. had a 35-19 advantage – but still made smooth zone-clearing plays.

Best defenceman on the ice?

Would you believe Hal Gill?

It's fitting that the Of Mice and Men pairing is playing great hockey in John Steinbeck's home state. Big Hal and Josh Gorges complement each others' skills; and Gill was, as usual, outstanding on the PK – particularly during the Canadiens' three shorthanded situations in the second period.

Jaroslav Halak had a quiet night by his standards: only 25 shots. But playing his first game since the bronze medal loss at the Olympics, Jaro was good when he had to be, particularly during the L.A. flurry that followed Modin's goal.

Up front, Benoit Pouliot continues to make sweet music with Gomez and Brian Gionta. In each game he plays, you can see the skill set that made Pouliot the fourth-overall draft choice in Sidney Crosby's (and Anze Kopitar's) 2005 draft class:

Size, speed, soft hands, great vision and anticipation in the offensive zone, a willingness to go to the net.

Pouliot is the complete package. Barring injury – watch where you're going, Roman Hamrlik! – he's going to be a Canadiens star for a long time.

I don't know how many good years Dominic Moore has left, but he was great last night. In addition to the shorthanded goal that surprised Jonathan Quick and millions of Canadiens' fans, Moore did a solid defensive job when Jacques Martin was able to get him out against Kopitar. Linemate Travis Moen had four SoG and Sergei Kostitsyn was plus-2

Tomas Plekanec played another aggressive game he must have taken Doug Gilmour's Chippiness for Small Guys correspondence course – but didn't get much help from his linemates.

Andrei Kostitsyn had a couple hits and played like he cared. Tom Pyatt skated miles.

But Pleks desperately needs a finisher, and will get one when Mike Cammalleri comes back.

Martin shortened his bench from the second period on. Glen Metropolit, Mathieu Darche and Ben Maxwell played barely over five forettable minutes in the game – enough time for Kopitar to torch Metro for the Kings' first goal.

The road trip finishes tonight in Anaheim, where the Canadiens have a chance to solidify their tenuous hold on a playoff spot.

Saku Kivu might have something to say about that.

Back in eighth place

Mike Boone — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 10:43:31 -0500

Huge night for the Scott Gomez line, and a heroic effort by the D.

Selling the Kings

Mike Boone — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:03:21 -0500

Tip of the tuque to video scout Jarred Friedman for this L.A. Kings commercial.

About last night ...

Mike Boone — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:34:51 -0500

Always fun with Chris Lee, eh?

Is there a Montreal fan alive who doesn't wish the ref got a lift back to the hotel ... from Dan Heatley?

Seven minors called on each team, most of them in the second period, several of them bizarre and woefully inconsistent.

The parade to the box disrupted the flow of the game and prevented Jacques Martin from rolling the lines to the extent he was able to in Boston.

The result: Single-digit minutes for Glen Metropolit, Tom Pyatt and Mathieu Darche.

The result of that: fatigue in the third period – and two unanswered goals by the home team.

San Jose took over about midway through the middle period, and then it was just a matter of time before the number two team in the league, with a goal differential of +51, beat the number 23 team, which is -10.

It would have been a great way to start the California road trip.

As it is, however, the Canadiens' loss dropped them to 10th place pending a tough back-to-backer against the Kings and Ducks.

Chris Lee didn't help, but the Sharks dominated last night: 40 shots on goal, plus 26 blocks (including five by Hal Gill and four by Ryan O'Byrne) and 19 misses.

The corresponding Canadien numbers were 30-10-11.

That's 85-51: a lot of teritorial domination..

I expect to see Jaro Halak in L.A., but Carey Price was very good in the HP Pavillion shooting gallery. There were many flashes of the natural ability that makes the Canadiens' goaltending situation complicated.

Is there a goaltender in the league who's been beaten by more deflections, skate tips and own-goals?

We'll probably see Jaro in L.A., But Price is back.

More positives:

• Benoit Pouliot continues to show why he was drafted one spot ahead of Carey Price.

• Ryan O'Byrne had three shots on goal.

• Josh Gorges and Hall Gill were each plus-1.

• Brian Gionta played his heart out (what's new).

• The Canadiens never quit, battled toe-to-toe against a Cup contender and came very close to stealing a point in the dying seconds.

Negatives:

• Tomas Plekanec looks tired and was slapped all over the ice by the Sharks.

• Roman Hamrlik took a lazy penalty that turned the game around. Dany Heatley scored on the ensuing PP, and the Sharks sezied Mo.

• The Kostitsyn brothers aren't contributing. Sergei made a few nice passes, but Andrei's timing is still not there after his long layoff.

• The power play produced Scott Gomez's goal but was mostly a mess. San Jose pressured the puck from the neutral zone, and the Canadiens couldn't handle it. And Patrick Marleau scored shorthanded.

• No one can finish.

• I don't know if it was fatigue or Jacques Martin's coaching, but the Canadiens played passively in the third period. Not a good idea against a team like San Jose.

• The biggest negative of all: This team is too damn small for crunch-time hockey. And the crunch part of the season has begun.

One more negative: I'm sleep-deprived and this is a truncated edition of ALN.

I'll leave further reflections to the Commentariat.

Friday Video Theatre II

Mike Boone — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:31:04 -0500

Sean F. Avery

He's a jerk, but he understands show biz.

Friday Video Theatre

Mike Boone — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:01:09 -0500

No, that guy in the Leafs jersey wasn't Mike Komisarek.

Colton Orr gave Milan Lucic all he could handle last night.

Of course, BGL couldn't fit that into his busy schedule last season.

Very demoralizing

Mike Boone — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:41:03 -0500

Canadiens blow a third-period lead and waste a strong performance by Carey Price.

San Jose is a Cup contender ... and looked it.

The Canadiens are in ninth place ... and looked it during crunch time.

Good team, great marketing

Mike Boone — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:13:12 -0500

The San Jose Sharks sell hockey to northern Californians.

Habs I/O chief video scout Jarred Friedman found this commercial featuring Joe Thornton as a ventriloquist.

But my favourite is coach Todd McLellan.

There are others with Joe Pavelski, Rob Blake, Ryan Clowe and Dan Boyle.

Thursday Video Theatre

Mike Boone — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 04:31:54 -0500

This music video is amazing.

Something to entertain Habs fans until the puck drops hours and hours from now.

From Aaron Palushaj to ...

Mike Boone — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:20:20 -0500

Zenon Konopka?

Nope. No Alpha-Omega trade day for your Montreal Canadiens.

Pierre Gauthier must have liked what he saw in Boston.

A quiet day all around that saw the movement of mostly role players and depth Dmen.

16 deals, 29 players, 12 draft picks ... with maybe a few more reported after 3 p.m.

Bruins got Dennis Seidenberg.

Washington toughened up with Scott Walker and added Eric Belanger.

Jeff Halpern to L.A.

Peter Mueller went to Colorado for Wojtek Wolski.

Raffi Torres to Buffalo.

And surprisingly, considering the needs, no major goaltender moves.

About last night ...

Mike Boone — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:34:06 -0500

So, buyers, sellers or innocent bystanders?

The consensus prediction from radio guys and the Antichambre crew is a quiet Trading Day for the Canadiens and their fans.

Nothing we saw in Boston changes that scenario ... except a win makes a stand-pat trade day easier to accept.

All credit to the Canadiens for a very solid effort ... against a very bad hockey team.

What's happened to the Bruins?

No one can score, the D is pathetic and Tim Thomas is signed to watch Tuukka Rask for four years.

But enough about them.

Boston sucks. The Bruins have not won in the TD Banknorth Centre this year. They're about to go on the road for seven games.

The Canadiens are in seventh place, and the team we saw last night – trailing after two periods, then scoring four unanswered – looked like a playoff club.

Were you ready to trade Carey Price after the Boston goal?

But the erstwhile Franchise was not rattled. And for one of the very rare times this year, his teammates got Price a W.

On a night when Jacques Martin managed to get double-digit minutes from all 18 skaters, the supporting cast won the game.

The fourth line had 12 of the Canadiens' 32 shots. I don't remember that happening on nights Georges Laraque was dressed.

Maxim Lapierre had a goal, three shots on goal, six hits and won seven of eight faceoffs.

Glen Metropolit had a goal, an assist and five SoG.

Continuing a great week for McGill, Mathieu Darche had a goal, an assist and five SoG.

Tom Pyatt had two assists and skated the Bruins into the ice. The kid is smart and he can fly. Pencil Pyatt in for next season's team.

The two top lines were kept off the scoresheet. but Tuukka Rask had a lot to do with that.

For a guy who's been out for two months, Andrei Kostitsyn was fast and aggressive. His finish was lacking, but it will come. We can look forward to Mike Cammalleri bringing some spark to that line.

Tomas Plekanec had a quiet game by his standards. Maybe he was thinking about David Krejci's contract.

I thought Benoit Pouliot was the best of the top six forwards. This guy is a player and picked up right where he left off before the injury: speed, intelligent use of his size, always looking for the net.

The D had some anxious moments. Josh Gorges failed to tie up Marco Sturm on the Boston goal, and he had a couple of scary turnovers.

But Gorges' partner, Hal Gill, was very solid.

The top two pairings were outstanding. Jaro Spacek played his best game in a long time. And I wonder if a contender will phone Pierre Gauthier to day to kick tires on Roman Hamrlik.

Andrei Markov played 21:21 – less than usual – and was brilliant: always controlling the tempo like a metronome; taking the temperature of the game and speeding things up or slowing down accordingly.

We saw it with Scott Niedermayer at the Olympics. A smart, puck-moving Dman is a very valuable commodity in today's NHL.

I've got to get my beauty sleep for the Trading Day live blog, which will start at 8 a.m.

It was a good win against a bad team.

The California swing will be more problematic.

Boston has scored a league-worst 150 goals this season.

San Jose has 204 – second only to Washington's 247.

You have to think Price will be thrown into the Shark tank on Thursday night.

Will Jaro Halak still be a Montreal Canadien.

Everyone thinks so.

But Ray Emery is out for the season.

And Annti Niemi got yanked on the Island last night.

Florida will move Tomas Vokoun. Dan Ellis and, perhaps, José Theodore are available.

Will the Canadiens make a big move involving goalie?

Set your alarm.

A character win

Mike Boone — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:03:28 -0500

Four unanswered goals in the third period.

Three by the third and fourth lines.

Carey Price made saves when he had to.

Outstanding team win.

Monday Video Theatre

Mike Boone — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:50:15 -0500

Something to chase your post-Games Blues:

During the Montréal-Québec TV series, Patrice Brisebois gets into with Bob Hartley.

I won't provide a full translation, but several "shut your face"s, a couple of Stanley Cup ring citations and Breezer told Hartley "you have trouble finding a job."

• • •

Best line on the Games ceremonies from my great and good friend Josie Gold, the Photo Shop wizard of Four Habs Fans:

"Giant penises to open the Games, giant beavers to close them."

• • •

Damien Cox on Twitter:

A reader says the 3 biggest goals in Canadian hockey history are from Paul Henderson and 2 guys who live in the same house in Pittsburgh.

About today ...

Mike Boone — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:18:02 -0500

Some quick-hit observations:

• If Canada lost, there wouldn't be enough alcohol and meds in this country to deal with it.

• Our Montreal Canadiens have NO ONE as good as Toews, Doughty, Kane, Keith ... well, I could go on, but we don't have enough alcohol and meds.

• I was among the second-guessers on Niedermayer when the tournament began. Too old. Too slow. As usual, I was wrong.

• This tournament will define the career of Rick Nash.

• Mike Babcock is as smart a guy as my alma mater ever produced.

• Two words for the Sid skeptics: B--- me.

• My friend and Gazette colleague Don Macpherson points out the best part of this for a Montrealer: We are spared the Réjean Tremblay "humiliation" column whining about Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier not being on the team.

• Hey, Reggie: Brodeur and Bergeron were great, eh? The best franco in the tournament was Zach Parise.

• Given a mulligan on the 2003 draft, I'd have taken Ryan Getzlaf or Zach Parise or Corey Perry or Mike Richards or Dustin Brown or Shea Weber.

• Did anyone miss fighting?

• Are the Hawks loaded or what?

• Are the Kings loaded or what?

• Man, Parise ...

• Can we bag the Burke-bashing, please?

• Is Ryan Kesler's locker beside Roberto Luongo's?

• How can we get excited about the NHL after this?

A game for the ages

Mike Boone — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:46:33 -0500

And who wins it?

The greatest F. hockey player in the world!!

Stanley Cup. Gold medal

Props to Iginla for the feed.

Was Ovechkin watching?

• • •

Nick Kypreos: "(Crosby) didn't need to have a great tournament. He needed a great moment."

Paul Henderson for the 21st Century ... and a much better hockey player.

• • •

We have health care and we have TWO hockey gold medals!!

Props to the U.S. for a superb effort.

A fast, young, excellent team. Well-coached by that sourpuss.

But the McGill tie wins again.

This feels so good!

• • •

Men of the Match: Crosby, Toews, Nash, Niedermayer

Reasons to be happy today

Mike Boone — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 07:04:13 -0500

• We are two sleeps closer to the month in which Spring begins.

• Regardless of what happens in the Bronze medal game, Jaro Halak has buttressed his status as a Number One goaltender in the NHL.

• There is no danger of complacency in the Gold medal game. Team Canada got the scare of their lives last night.

• Sidney Crosby is due for a big game. And he will have one against the Americans.

• At 3 p.m., we will know where our children are. Also our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, colleagues, friends, enemies and total strangers.

• Joannie Rochette.

• Speedskaters with dreads.

• We may not own the podium, but we're renting with the option to buy: Canada has won more Gold than any host country ever.

• The trade deadline is Wednesday, and I get the feeling Pierre Gauthier won't be sitting around waiting for his phone to ring.

• Still not smilin'? Then check out this brilliant short film.

Dream(ish) final ... and national nightmare averted (for now)

Mike Boone — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:44:39 -0500

It's not the Russians.

It's kind of the opposite of the Russians.

Canada - U.S. for Gold

Plenty of parking spots available at shopping malls on Sunday afternoon.

This is going to be AWESOME!!

Anyone confident?

Canada BARELY ... and I mean barely beat Slovakia .

The third period was a near-death experience ... and you don't want that in a sudden-death game.