OT 3:33:
Aftter Andrei K just misses, Mike Green doesn't. I think he waas Andrei K's man.
OT 4:28:
Price saves from close in.
3P 00:00:
What a game!
4-4
26-26 in shots.
On to OT ... and maybe Carey Price in a shootout on the day Canada goes for gold.
3P 2:00:
I'm too eexcited to blog!
Crossbar!:
The goalie's best ffriend.
3P Break:
Wasn't that in?
Sure looked llike Ovechkin's third.
They're on the phone.
3P Break:
The place is going nuts. This is great. Amazing chances at both ends
3P 8:34:
Number 8 is not the only Russian superstar in this game.
Kovy's 18th, a carbon copy of Ovechkin's 32nd
4-4
3P 9:20:
Lapierre line pinned in its own end for the entire shift.
3P 11:00:
I don't understand a "system" that allows your opponent to consistently gain your blueline at speed.
3P 12:43:
Big thrill. Andrei K cashes a rebound that wasn't a rebound.
3P Break:
If that big moose isn't the most dangerous player in the league, I don't know who is.
3P 13:22:
Right out of the box, Ovechkin blasts aa wrister past Price.
4-3
3P 15:29:
After the longest delayed penalty of the season, Ovechkin for boarding
3P 17:00:
Ovechkkin came to play today. Great fun to watch.
3P 17:55:
Great play starts with Koivu, continues with Streit and Latendresse and ends with Hamrlik
3-3
Game on, eh?
3P 20:00:
Here it comes: the patented third-period comeback, introiduced, to rave reviews,, against weak-ass Tampa Bay
2P 1:09:
Brutal.
Markov caught deep and Boyd Gordon uses Sergei as a screen to bbeat Price with a 60-footer.
The HU-ET chant begins.
2P 2:05:
One of the great PKs of the year.
2P 4:05:
Koivu hook in the O-zone. And I could call it from up here. Every @#$%ing game, at least one of those.
2P Break:
Shots are now 16-15. Canadiens have stopped skating and can't complete any passes.
2P 5:48:
Man, that Ovechkin. Shrugs off a Lapierre hit on the boards and cruises in to feed Backstrom in the sslot.
2P 7:12:
Two great KKovalev backchecks, but markov goes for holding. Another PK guy in the box.
2P 8:07:
What'd I say about Backstrom?
Price did not look good. High to his glove side on the Caps' 12th shot.
2P 9:00:
Shot of Henri Richard in the crowd ... and in the middle of a potato chip transaction.
2P Break:
Nicklas Backstrom is going to be aa star. He set up Ovechkin for a great chance and Price had his bbest save of the game. At thhe other end, Sergei worked some magic on his line. How boring was this league before the Europeans got here?
2P 10:33:
Kovalev is amazing. Sets up Andrei K for what should have been a goal, then gets back deep in puck support.
2P 11:29:
Clean draw win by Nylanedr against Chipchura. Back to Ovecchkin and Price hhad no chhance.
2-1.
Bad penalty, Max
2P Break:
Too cute ... and Carbo won't like it. Lapierre slashes the sstick out a Cap's haands and goes to sit ... which means, as I understand it, he won't be available for the PK.
2P 12:33:
Caps are first on the puck and winning many battles. But just as I write that ... Andrei K turns Mike Green inside out and snaps off a wrister.
2-0
2P 15:00:
Ryder is blowing my mind. Big hits. Seeing-eye passes.
2P 16:30:
Mathieu Dandenault is wearing his fast skates today.
2P 17:00:
Not a great PP. Maybe Ryder would be better than Latendresse on the Koivu wave. Better hands.
2P 19:24:
Andrei KK makes aa nice move an draws trip
2P 20:00:
I suspect Price will have a busier 20 minutes
Between periods:
Interesting defence pairings at period'ss end: Komisarek and Hamrlik, Markov and Gorges ... Pleks is 4-1 on faceoffs bu everyone else haaving a tugh time. Chipchura is 0-for-4 ... Ovechking: one shot, three hits What a horse! ... Pat Hickey tells me that stiff Derian Hatcher bit Travis Zajac's finger during a scrum in New Jersey last night.
1P 00:35:
How did Koivu miss that?
1P Break:
Shots are 11-5. Kolzig has been very good. Great glove hand.
1P 3:33:
Good chances on the PP. I'm not sure I like Sergei on the point, though.
1P 5:41:
Great play. Dandenault takes a hit to make a pass into the ccrease. And another PP
1P Break:
Both teams playing like they want to watch the junior final. Very few whistles. Price has looked really good.
1P 9:21:
And the crowd goes wild: Max outraces Ovechkin for a loose puck and gets a breakaway on the PK.
1P 10:31:
Neutral zone hook by Kovy. Pretty obvious
1P 12:20:
Ovechkin has aa tough shot, through a crowd andd from a bad angle. He just cruises around the offensive zone like a hungry sharkk.
1P Commercial break:
Some big, thumping hits by the Caps. Only five shots in seven minutes.
1P 15:00:
One little play – the way he cradled a long outlet pass – shows me Michael Ryder is transformed player.
1P 16:00:
Carbo will play multiple sets of forwards against Ovechkin, but always Markov and Komisarek.
1P 17:22:
What a pass by KKovy! Plekanec has time to stop it, tee it up and Boom!
1-0
1P 17:42:
What a great start. Bang-bang plays at both ends. And nnow a PP.
1P 18:55:
Lapierre hustle gave Higgins a good chance. And Price made his first save.
1P 20:00:
How rusty will Carey Price be? Hasn't played in 13 days.
To start:
Plekanec line against Brooks Laich, Matt Bradely and Donald "What? You expect me to cover Kovalev?" Brashear
The great Henri Richard:
in the pre-game video
Not the greatest UFA signing:
Michael Nylander is in the first year of a four-year deal worth $19.5 million. He has 10 goals, 23 assists but is minus-16, worst on the Caps.
Ovechkin?:
I missed it, but someone's shot broke a pane of plexiglass behind the Washington net during warm-ups.
Pasting:
Russia is taking the U.S. juniors to the woodshed. I haven't followed the junior tournament. Does anyone have an opinion on Max Pacioretty?
Good read:
Réjean Tremblay's appreciation of Guy Carbonneau in La Presse today.
Share the agony and ecstasy of Habs fandom and read live blogs from every game with Gazette columnist Mike Boone.
Habs Inside/Out main RSS feed
[ Carbo ] lamented too many plays that were "lazy" and listed a litany of sins: "penalties in the offensive zone, not covering the guy, losing faceoffs."
hmm, when is losing faceoffs a sin? i mean, i would understand not winning any, being atrocious at it; but i don't think that was the case today, was it? seemed like we won our fair share of faceoffs this afternoon. is he going for perfection here? 'cause if he is, i don't know if he knows this but hockey ain't the place for it. it's a human game of split-seconds and where other people are playing against you towards the same goal as you are. so, you win some plays and lose others.
same applies to goaltending, btw. some nights you're hot, other nights you're not.
i'm getting sick of him talking like this to the media about his players. Guy, you're not helping your team any.
As I said in the post, a goalie of Price's calibre doesn't just fall by the wayside. Their is a reason why he's a highly touted rookie. Huet is a good goaltender, no question about it. But, he won't be around in four years. Does Halak deserve a shot? Possibly. He certainly has been playing well of late, in Hamilton.
Posted this waaaaayyyy back on page 3. Thought I'd re-post it again for some on here.
Actually, Price IS our goalie of the future. These are the games that will shape his mental toughness and make him work harder to hone his skills and adapt to the professional level. The more adversity he faces, the better he will be down the road. And, for all we know, 'down the road' may mean, in two, three years, next season, or even in March. A goalie of that talent doesn't just fall by the way side. The way all the teams, in the east, are so close in the standings, I think the Habs can afford to play Price more often because every other team in the conference is going to have stinkers, and lose winnable,(winable?), games, just like the Habs. I think it's the beauty of parity.
I agree with the sentiment that the Habs are not far off now, and therefore, should be trying to go the distance this year. After watching Detroit suffer injuries and Ottawa stink some nights and eek out a win against Tampa tonight, I think a strong case can be made. No one can convince me that it is a certainty that Ottawa and Detroit will be in the finals. That said, Halak is better than 20 year old Price and possibly should be the backup (he even handles the puck like Price). Sure Huet has bad games (remember the Nashville melt down) but not three in a row. The reason the Habs goaltending is basically stable is because Huet is generally money in the bank. People who talk about trading him before Price (or Halak) is proven dependable are ridiculous. How does anyone talk about trading one of the leagues current best goaltenders because they hope Price will be the answer? These people should check out the Peguins - they are winning because of Ty Conklin. I doubt anyone saw that coming when Fleury was a 1st overall.
all these people are betting on something that may never happen, let them live in a fantasy world
i'll take those odds over huet playing more than 45 games(because of injury) or better still huet not blowing a game against the laffs.
I believe this is the first time Price has admitted he was less than stellar. Usually, when asked if he should change his game, or if he could have been better, he'd give some sort of response that would indicate that he thought he was pretty good, and the rest of the team kinda screwed up. Or that he shouldn't change because he's good enough.
Well, there goes the cockiness. Hopefully, the confidence didn't leave too...
A few minor changes, and he'll be the Pricer we all know and love!
I think he said it before, a couple times. I didn't see the whole game, but I don't think his lateral movement was as good as it has been. You don't suppose his style is being changed? Maybe he's being turned into a Melanson goalie.
Love the new picture...
Thanks!
Price was pretty brutal in goal today, but reading some of these posts you would think that he singlehandedly lost the game for the Habs. In fact, Price and the team played well enough to eke out a win today had the refs not blown it with an early whistle during a goal mouth scramble in the third. But those are the breaks when you play an 82 game schedule. Some bounces go your way and some don't.
Anyway, isn't this version of the Habs ex. fun to watch? I can't remember being as excited to watch a Habs game in a long time. AK46 scored a gem of goal. SK74 is looking more and more poised out there. Pleks and Kovalev were fantastic. Kovy appeared to be feeding off Ovechkin's passion. It's also apparent that Kovalev is relishing AK46's recent success. These things all bode well for the team's future.
Best of luck to the Habs as they begin the second half of the season.
You say Price was brutal in nets and that he did not lose the game, I beg to differ, he DID lose the game, all by himself. A big guy like that allowing so much room in his net from soooooooo far away.
Anways, I love the way most of the team (not the whole team) is playing this season, very exciting hockey, and I am so glad Kovalev is top in points. they have a lot of talent that is getting better by the day, but, and I say but, our goaltending is strange...we change goaltenders too often, Huet should be getting more consecutive games than he is, ride hime till he loses bad. What is the purpose of a number 1 goalie if he is in nets 50% of the time.
You are so wrong. See my other posts as to why !
mjames
100% agree. Price lost this game, almost singlehandedly, but if they play like that they'll win most games.
PLay like what? According to the article on RDS both Carbo and Higgins admitted that team only gave 30 minutes worth of effort. So, what's the plan? Play hard for 30 minutes and rely on your goalie for another? Mike Boone's blog also stated (I haven't seen the game so I have to rely on what other's said) Carbo's "system" has also allowed caps to easily skate in and establish position in the Habs' end.
While I believe that Price had a crappy game, I am sure that the "bad" 30 minutes of play did not help.
Nah, Price just sucked...But mannn, you need to set this guy riverwind or whatever his name is straight! I can't even think of a way to argue with him, he's singleminded with no specific facts or reasons to back himself up
Look what is your problem, let it go. I have an opinion and so do you. Obviously I get to you :)
No, my problem is the way you post, calling people morons, and telling them they smell like %^&#$, you can have an opinion, state it properly along with why you think so.
Then don't follow it up with idiocities.
I believe it was only you.
Good day
Obviously you have a VERY short term/selective memory. A good day to you too.
We let them skate to the top of the circle or slot before the shot. Price was partially screened on three goals.
mjames
To sum everyone's thoughts up, Price is number 1 so I guess Huet is trade bait, so just get rid of him, who will be the next scape goat, shall we bash Kovalev again, or how about LaPierre for a bit, maybe Latendresse again. Yes there are other issues, but today they should have won, Price did not make any great saves, and lost the game all by himself, there I said it. Huet deserves to be treated like a #1 goalie, he is not getting that in Montreal, DiPietro gets a 15 year deal and what did Hust get for giving us a chance 2 seasons ago, not much. Now he will be picked up by another team and given a huge contract, then that will come back and bite us in the @$$ for sticking with him, and banking all our chips on a 20 yr old who has alot to learn.....well maybe in 2 season we will make playoffs, we will this year if Huet is still between the pipes
it's nice that you're able to assess a game for a game and a play for a play but you're very narrow-minded in your overall analysis using aggression as your best weapon, and you clearly have no knowledge in management at all.
To REALLY sum up what most of is thinking
Your arguments hold no basis.
Huet was 30 when he first played on our team. It was his second full NHL season, the previous with the Kings and he had an OK season. After only 1 big season are we inclined to sign Huet to a big long-term deal? At 30...a 15 year contract a la dipietro would simply be ridiculous...what is Huet going to do for his last 5 years of his career? take over rollie melansons job? What happened last time we signed a goalie to a big long term contract...oh ya Jose Theodore stank it up and became The Odor in the dressing room. Do you want another example?
The original contract that BG offered Huet was telling him that he deserves low-end number 1 goalie pay, but because he has very little credentials, he has to work hard to prove that he deserves a second contract offer that may be long term and may even include more money. Would you rather have Huet here for 2.5 million a year for 2 years or Toskala for 4 years at 5 million...We didn't overpay Huet which is great.
Looking at Huet in the future, there is a chance that Huet will resign with the Habs, but a long term contract is not in sight. As previously mentioned by many posters before me, Price is considered the future of our goaltending (how can we say that you've asked? umm...he's a prospect and playing in the NHL at a young age...if you ask me he will figure in the future...it's just like saying Jonathan Toews or Patrick Kane is Chicago's future...). There is no point in having Huet here long-term since it won't be necessary in terms of Price's development.
and in terms of salary cap. Huet will be offered a 2 year contract MAX, as Price's 3 year entry level contract will expire by then and Price may be commanding number 1 goalie money, or more since he will be RFA and if people are talking about offering OV 10 million during his RFA status...Price may be pried away from us. IF we have Huet around for say 5million for the next 5 years...how much does that eat into our cap to give Price a new contract? and it'd be silly to cut into the amount of money we need to contribute to the forwards and defense to keep 2 goalies. In 2 years if we need to off-load huet...he will be an aged goalie...and it will be tough to off-load a big contract with years still on it.
Another reason why Huet won't get a long term contract...injury prone. He has missed significant time 3 years running. According to TSN player profile:
18 games missed 05-06
20games missed 06-07
5 games missed 07-08
It's a risk to sign a goalie, and any player to that matter, long term with such an injury history. Look at Sheldon Souray, he's played 16 games for the Oilers. How do you think Kevin Lowe feels after the Gazette reporting recently that Souray is making close to $400,000 per game?
Since we DO have him, we CAN play him, and he IS winning. Price may not be as good as Huet at the moment, but potentially, he's done as well as any other goalie in their first full NHL season. Price deserves his shot and by no means has he blown his chance (nor has Halak, but Halak lost out on the numbers game).
Another perspective to Price playing this afternoon is that Washington is considered a weaker team in our conference, and it's a good spot to put in our backup goalie to give our number 1 time off to rest. In light of Huet's injury history, rest is much needed when possible. For example, someone posted the other night that Toronto has faced 19 back up goalies in 41 games...clearly it's a good idea to play your back-up goalie against weaker opposition, and Price OUR BACK UP has played Toronto 3 times already...go figure.
Sorry for the book I wrote but you pissed me off with your ignorance.
There are a lot of threads here so I'll just take the biggest one and run with it. I buy into the thinking of Huet as our current no.1 goalie. His experience and maturity is evident in his play. At the same time, he has never played more than forty games in a season and last year blew out his hamstring, partly due to overwork. I actually think he has been playing a lot lately. Carbo has deviated from his previous alternate scheme. Carey Price has had three shakey games in a row (FL, DAL, WASH) but at the same time Huet was less than stellar against Nashville.
I think it all boils down to how the team plays in front of them. They are both excellent goalies but succeptible to a team which tends to take the odd period off! If they could play sixty minutes we wouldn't be having this discussion.
Needless to say, I wouldn't sign Huet to the future because Price is the future and to have Huet for another 3 years would further retard Price's developement. Any goalie needs to face shots in battle. Any amount of practice cannot make up for Ovetchkin letting go a blast. To sign Huet would be akin to signing Smolinski in case Chips was a bust or Breezer in case O'byrne was a bust, even Kostopolos in case Lappy was a bust. You get the picture.
The kids have proven to a certain extent that they deserve to play and that includes Carey Price.
I think to sit him on the bench displays a lack of confidence which can hurt the kid. I think Carbo should go back to his two goalie system. It worked before and it can work again.
I'm sure Huet has 3 good years left in him, but not in Montreal where he will have to accept a diminished role.
Very good... looooonnnnnnngggggg.... but bang on.
LIKE HOY,
brilliant, just brilliant, I can't believe he even replied to you after this post.
i'm going to re-iterate one of my points...you have no management skills. 'nuff said
First of all, what is with the name calling?
That was Price's first start in 13 days. Huet has gotten 4 starts in a row. As mentioned previously Huet is fairly injury prone, so give him a rest.
The idea, i believe, is to attempt to balance immediate objectives(making the playoffs) vs. nurturing future prospects... Price included.
That is a difficult task... and not without its risks.
In that sense I think I can see where some of your frustrations originate, however, I think they have managed to achieve acceptable results while allowing many of the youngsters an opportunity to develop... again Price included.
You sound remarkably like KJDavid
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