Aftermath:
I saw it, but I still don't believe it. Tomas Vokoun looked unbeatable until that fluke goal by Higgins. Then he stones Saku Koivu about three times in the OT. Alex Kovalev, who had an off-night to that point, takes his time, fires one to Vokoun's glove side and the Canadiens' losing streak is over.
Great game – if boring for much of the time.
OT 3:17:
KOVALEV!!!!!!!
Amazing
OT 4:30:
Great night for the Koivu line. And a 4-on-3 PP.
3P 00:35:
Not too brilliant. Icing by Markov.
3P 2:00:
Gorges on the PK.
3P 3:39:
What a time for a penalty! Koivu for hooking.
3P 4:30:
Huge save on Horton. Whew!!!
Tighten up boys. Tied game on the road.
3P Break:
Price catches a pop fly. I wonder where his pulse rate is at. Vokoun has to be pissed and maybe rattled.
3P 5:20:
Nice shift by Max line ... finally.
3P 6:33:
It's about time Higgy got a bounce. And he beat Bouwmeester, which ain't easy.
3P 7:26:
GOAL OF THE YEAR!!!!
Christopher Higgins.
1-1
3P 7:30:
Vokoun has been great. But five blown PPs is brutal.
3P Break:
ANOTHER PP. I think I might just cover my eyes until it's over.
3P 11:00:
Panthers are forechecking two and creating problems.
3P Break:
Another good PK. But the Panthers are cautious.
3P 14:00:
Are you kidding? Pleks for faceoff interference.
3P 14:08:
Smolinski on the PP?
3P 15:39:
Another PP. They're torture.
3P :
Actually a two-minute PP. And a wasted opportunity. Streit has sucked on the point tonight.
3P 18:00:
A four-minute PP. Gotta score.
3P 19:30:
You don't see Markov belting people very often.
3P 20:00:
Any hope for some exciting hockey? I'm still not optimistic.
Between periods:
The difference is Vokoun. Canadiens have had the better chances. They're playing MUCH beter than they did in Tampa. Florida wll slow it down to a crawl in the third period.
2P 5:30:
Oh man, Koivu in alone on the PK. And now Gorges goes off for clearing it into the crowd.
2P 7:17:
Bad penalty for Kostopoulos.
2P Break:
No second chances on Vokoun. It's going to take a perfect play to beat this guy tonight. At the other end, that was darn near 2-0.
2P 8:00:
Komisarek giveaway and Bouillon saves a goal.
2P :
First part of PP is a mess. Too impatient. Then the K brothers, Pleks and Kovalev. Vokoun's positioning is flawless.
2P 11:09:
Smo makes a perfect pass to Streit. And another PP
2P 13:00:
Another good night for O'Byrne.
2P Break:
Canadiens keep coming at Vokoun. But he's hot tonight.
2P 14:00:
Maybe 4-on-4 will open things up.
2P 15:00:
Vokoun is looking unbeatable.
2P 16:00:
Nice play by Koivu, great shot by Higgins.
2P 16:17:
Markov takes his fifth shot. Vokoun sees it all the way.
2P 17:00:
The Smo line is killing me.
2P 18:30:
Was I hallucinating? I saw Max Lapierre take a shot
2P 19:00:
The passing by forwards is still awful.
2P 20:00:
With a 1-0 lead, does Jacques Martin slow thigs down? The game is an oil painting already.
Between periods:
Are Steve Montador and Mike Commodore the same guy? Have they ever teamed up on D in front of José Theodore? ... The Canadiens' third and fourth lines continue to struggle. Did Tom Kostopoulos touch the puck in the first period? I didn't hear his name ... Canadiens are crowding Vokoun and the Pleks line has had some chances ... Andrei Markov had four of their 10 shots
1P 00:40:
Andrei K is a joy to watch
1P 1:40:
Everyone in the league knows Canadiens D will try to clear up the boards.
1P 3:00:
RDS guys say Jacques Martin has to be happy. His AHL roster is leading.
1P Break:
Decent start. PP is overdue, but so's everything else.
1P 5:41:
Good work by the Koivu wave on the PP. Puck control. Screens on Vokoun.
1P 7:03:
Kovy sold that one a bit, eh?
1P 7:56:
A flukey ricochet off Markov's stick.
1-0
1P 8:39:
Very acrtive PK by Pleks, Kovy, Higgins and Koivu. And an alert glove save by Price.
1P Break:
First PP to Florida, and they have a good one. Why is RDS all over Smolinski, who's playing with two converted defencemen? They're rather more circumspect in knocking Breezer.
1P 11:30:
Nice tie, Carbo.
1P 12:00:
Koivu lines looks better with Sergei K
1P Break:
Another fast start. Price looks steady and confident. Florida is missing about eight regulars. That 2-on-1 was scary, though.
1P 14:00:
O'Byrne rushes all the way behind Vokoun. This must be an adjustment by Carbo.
1P 14:30:
Gorges on left D with Breeze. Don't like that at all.
1P 15:50:
See Jokinen flying through the neutral zone? Love that guy.
1P 17:00:
No Stephen Weiss, a Habs killer
1P 17:10:
Nice rush by Markov.
1P 18:30:
I don't like that Smo line.
1P 19:30:
Jokinen against Koivu
1P 20:00:
Shall I ensure a win by predicting they'll lose? You've got it.
Jacques Martin:
Mr. Excitement. He could be host of the Narcolepsy Telethon.
The Zednik video:
Enough already! We've seen it more often than the Zapruder film.
1P 20:00:
Jokinen against Plekanec tonight?
Nothing says hockey:
like palm trees.
I just realized ...:
this is a 7:30 start. Gonna go feed my dog (not a euphemism).
Good news:
Roman Hamrlik back against the Flyers
1P 20:00:
Not good to fall behind early. Canadiens just have to put their game back together, one hard-working shift at a time. Pierre Houde and Yvon Pedneault are talking about whether a shakeup is necessary. Pedneault cites Evgeni Malkin carrying the Pengins since the Crosby injury. Who's going to step up for the Canadiens? They also say Carbo says if Price wins tonight, he's starting Saturday against Philly at the Bell Centre.
Lundqvist:
$6.5 million per season for six seasons. Would have been an RFA.
Jacques Demers:
says the slide has to stop. Now. But no panic, just a return to what they were doing when they were winning.
Panthers will want to win one:
for the Zedder ... and there's my man Olli on RDS. Jacques Martin floats the chance he'll be traded ... Wow, some fat lip on Kovy, courtesy of Lecavalier's "accidental" elbow ... Yvon Pedneault says Jokinen is available. Henrik Lundqvist signed a six-year extension with the Rangers ... Pedneault says Boston may be in the hunt for Marian Hossa. It would reunite him with Marc Savard ... Pierre Gauthier was at the game last night in Tampa ... Joe Corvo, safely out of tow, trashes Ottawa
It's been a while:
Carey Price's last NHL win was Dec. 15 against the Leafs.
Carey Price:
Time for the kid to steal one, yes?
Olli Jokinen:
will play his 700th career game tonight. Jokinen has never played a post-season game. The futility record is held by Guy Charron, who played 734 games from 1969 to 1981 without making it to the playoffs
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A little tip of the hat : Carbo goes the whole nine yards in his protection of boy Carbo but last night having him on RW may be telling us something for the future. He'll probably say it was for defensive purposes but i read it a different way. Moves of Lats in the past was a key to the thinking of Carbo for the future games but now i think it's for the deadline and if i were Ryder (RW) and Dandy (RW) i'll be getting all local matters cleared up immediately.
HA, 500th comment. Normally I'd be at work but things are pretty bad in good ole Freddy Beach, N.B with all the freekin ice on the roads and flooded streets. Happy to see the boys pull it out in OT. GO HABS GO!!!
Thank goodness for the bad ice in Florida. I'm glad Higgy got his second goal in as many games, and I hope this will open the floodgates for him. The 3rd and 4th lines were largely invisible in my opinion - Streit is too good to be this underutilized and Lats has scoring potential but needs a more offensive center than Max.
OB again looked liked he belonged. Captain K had one of his better games (he looked involved, but also took a pathetic breakaway shot and a late 3rd period hooking penalty).
Kovalev is solidifying his place as the team's player of the year. He not only notched the winner, he stayed back at the entrance to the dressing room, to give the players pounds. That's a scorer and a leader.
Streit needs to improve his puck movement on PP a bit. Too hesitant and often overthinks. But lately I cannot reproach the way he's been playing. One of the few consistant players for the habs this year.
I don't know if I'd want Kovalev to be wearing the C just from the pressure and french media standpoint. Although, I have a feeling that Kovi would not give a flying you know what about anything said with regard to his language abilities. And in the room I am sure players recognize him as a leader, as a mentor and probably as a coach, seeing how little they can rely on carbonneau in that regard.
What a player!
You're right, Streit was way too tentative on the PP tonight. He needs to make quick decisions and shoot the puck w/authority.
Anybody, what did Corvo say about Ottawa?
He said that Ottawa is a shallow one line team with suspect goaltending. He also said that Ott will not win a cup with their lineup and he is happy as hell to go play with Brindamour who has more toughness in his left pinkie then the Sens and Habs have put together.
in a nutshell he pretty much hated the media
He said he hated the city and especially the media in Ottawa.
Oh... Can't say I disagree :)
(No disrespect to anybody living in ottawa. Has more to do with their hockey team than anything else.)
I love how bipolar this city is when it comes to hockey :)
(Booking time for the Stanley Cup Parade)
What do you mean?
How about Huet and Ryder for Carter and a pick?
Well, that's a rap for me boys!
Other than the fact that Philly already has 2 good goalies...This would be great
2? They have a half decent one in Biron, but he hasn't been playing well. Nittymaki just sucks.
Why the heck are you trying to trade our only decent goalie? Price is not ready. Period.
Even if Price isn't ready, Halak is *right there*! He was ready last year.
The numbers reflect that he is not. I've watched every single habs game this year and I prefer Huet over Price any day of the week for the time being.
Price had a horrible set of games right before he was sent down, he then did pretty poorly down there for a couple games before coming back to being considered "solid" again. Huet has had a bad stretch, also Hammer has been out and the team has played like ass in front of him.
Im a big believer in Save% and Huets has been top 10 all year, and still is even after his last couple rough games.
Price will be the guy eventually, but not yet.
-shrug-
I honestly don't care. There are much smarter people then you and I running the Habs and I have a feeling they'll make the best decision.
Wow. Thats alot of hate you've got seething under there.
I don't really need to try and convince you of anything, the numbers speak for themselves and they always average out in the end. Even with the recent rough stretch Huet is still the better goalie and by far.
End of story.
"By far"?
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______________________________________
"All bow down before the Komisaurus Rex!"
huet is the best goaltender in the world straight up. We won't be able to afford the $8 million he will command at the end of the season. I will absolutely hate to see him leave.
NOT!
wouldn't pay him a cent more than 3.5 million. He wants more? he can go find another team.
Because he will not resign with us next year for less than 4 mil. In that case it is not worth it and we should get something for him rather than just letting him go. Maximize our assets. We can always pick up a veteran goalie for a one year deal if need be.
His salary per year won't be the problem; it'll be the length of the deal that'll keep Huet fron wearing our jersey next year. Huet is 32 years old going into his UFA; if you think that he's going to take a two year deal (which means that he'd be 34 the next time UFA rolls around for him) then you know something about free agents that I sure don't. This is his prime time to make out like a bandit and get as many years as possible for as high a salary as he can get... neither of which he'd get in Montreal. Deal Huet now, and sign a veteran goalie for one year at a reasonable salary to be a mentor and the fall-back guy should Price/Halak falter. Someone "like" a Belfour might be the kind of guy that you look at.
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______________________________________
"All bow down before the Komisaurus Rex!"
That easy eh? Lots of solid goalies just floating around the league for the picking.
You guys make it sound so easy.
Anyways if Lunqvist is worth 6.75 then Huet is easily worth 4 mil and we should pay it.
Lundy isn't worth 6.75, the Rangers are just dumb.
Huet is not worth 4 and we should never pay it.
BTW Lundy has started more games in each of his 3 seasons than Huet ever has.
...
I confused how that has any relevance on how good the guy is or isnt, or what hes worth....
But good point.
It is a good point. A starting goalie has to be able to start at least half the games in a season don't you think? Too bad Huetty has never been able to. He's another Jeff Hackett, whom I loved.
For 4 mil a year, he damn sure better be a starting goalie!
I agree hes gotta start more. Lets be honest here...
First year he was with the team he split time with Theodore and Huet was arguably, at the time, one of the best goalies in the league for the ~35 games he played.
Last year he was still good, but not -as- good, and again we had Abischer who was actually pretty good for the first 30 games of the season. He was also injured.
This year I feel hes been mostly good, with the odd bad game. I mean he is 20-11-6 with a good SV% (top 10 all year). We've also tried to get Price into games, its not like Price has been in because Huet has blown.
I just dont see why 4 mil is so out of the question for this guy. Maybe 3.25-3.5 is more realistic considering your point about games played.
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