3P 00:33:
Lucic takes a late shot. Pathetic.
3P 1:30:
The ovation begins.
3P 3:00:
Smoke on a less-than-urgent 5-on-3.
3P Break:
The game in a nutshell: Chara and Sturm both go.
3P 5:00:
Habs D has been outstanding.
3P:
Another great PK. So much improved over the course of the season.
3P 8:24:
Bruins PP. Komisarek a little too keen on bumping Lucic.
3P 9:05:
Gui! is faster with less hair
3P Break:
Bruins through 10-plus minutes: two shots. 15 on the game. Canadiens have 30.
3P 11:00:
The Goodbye song begins.
3P 11:54:
Goon time already? Thornton for cross-checking.
3P 12:35:
Too fast. Too smart withh the puck for the BBruins D.
Tom the Bomb
4-1
3P 13:19:
The Max line, just bustin' balls and eating minutes.
3P Break:
Smoke on second wave of the PP to win faaceoff, which he didn't. Nice PP work by Sergei.
Canadiens have owned the third period so far.
3P 15:04:
Thomas a miraculous save on Kovalev.
3P 15:51:
Higgins line looking awfully good.
3P 17:14:
Bruins crash crease and after the whistle Price cooly skates to the corner while unpleasantries are exchanged.
2P 18:00:
Save of the game on Sturm in alone after rare Hamrlik misplay at the Bruins blueline.
3P 19:00:
Textbook shift by Higgins line to start.
3P 20:00:
Lead protection 101. Pound it deep on the defence that's been chasing fast foirwards for 40 minutes.
Between periods:
Chara: 17 minutes already. Hammrlik: 16:11, four hits, three blocked shots ... Lucic: five hits ... Smoke 6-1 on faceoffs, Plekanec 11-5 ... Canadiens' speed is just exhausting the Bruins' D ... Price looked much steadier. I don't think he gave up a rebound in the second period ... The Max line is annoying the Bruins ...
2P 00:00:
Kovy puts on a stickhandlling show to end the period
2P 00:42:
"Fraser sucks!" from the refs in the cheap(er) seats.
2P 1:30:
Are they gonna call ANYTHING?
2P 2:37:
Dandenault's speed gave them fits. Then a big scrum in front of Thomas.
2P 3:30:
Nice rush by Kovy after some Bruins pressure.
2P Break:
PK helped by Chara throwing up all over himself at the blueline. Price is looking very alert. Komisarek blocks a Kessel shot and Price is there for the rebound.
2P Break:
I hate to be on Ryder's case. But this is not a good time for O-zone interference ... not that there's ever a good time.
2P 8:40:
A dicey defensive shift for Pleks line
2P 10:00:
Bruins have two shots in 10 minnutes, eight on the game.
2P 10:33:
Another great shift for the Smoke line. I love those guys.
2P 11:16:
Sergei is learning that Ryder doesn't pass the puck.
2P Break:
Zurkowsly asks: "Does Chara get booed like this when he goes back to Ottawa?" Hey, what do they know from booing up there? They boo changes to their pension plans.
2P 13:00:
Kovy looks skyward. How did that miss?
2P 14:24:
Crowd admires Gui!'s hairdo after Jeremy Reich pulls his helmet off
2P 14:44:
Huge goal. And the Bryan Smolinski Show rolls on and on.
3-1
2P 15:00:
Bruins D can't contain he speed of the Pleks line.
2P 16:00:
What a pass, Kovy to Pleks. But the shot was way wide.
2P 17:01:
Murray crashes Price after a save and Markov goes after him.
2P 17:42:
Gorges had problems controlling Shawn Thornton behind the net and it lled to a chance.
2P 19:20:
Andrei K. belts Chara
2P 19:38:
Pleks line starts fast and Ward is hurt already.
2P 20:00:
This will be a great 20 minutes of hockey.
Between periods:
No Bruin has more than one shot . Canadiens have 17 hits: four by Max Lapierre, three each by Bégin and Kostopoulos. Does bouncing off Chara count as a hit? ... Carey Price is making me VERY nervous ... Mike Komisarek shows no ill effects ... Did I mention Price was making me nervous? He has to get in the game, because after that opening flurry, this one became a war.
1P 00:00:
Great period! PPlayoff hockey.
1P 00:25:
Nice play by Gui! holding the puck and shooting
1P 1:40:
My mistake They both go.
1P 2:14:
Murray goes for an O=zone hook on Komisarek, who had won the battle for the puck.
1P 3:40:
First PK, with Markov off. Good play by Breeze to clear. Fresh out of the box, Markov saves a chance. Price is giving fat rebounds
1P Break:
Price is fighting the puck. Komisarek just saved a goal with a well-timed wipeout in the crease.
1P 7:00:
Bégin belts Schaefer, and the crowd loves it.
1P Break:
Bruins have woken up. Shots are 8-4 and Chara iis starting to bounce people. HHe reallly thumped Plekanec.
1P 10:00:
Reich crashes the net, andd Hamrlik has a tough time containing him. Game on here.
1P 11:26:
Hmmmmm. Komisarek concedes the blueline and a long, harmless-looking shot by Hnnidybeats Price. Bruins have two shots,
1P Break:
All lines are flying. The Canadiens' eighth shot – Bruins have one – was a good chance for Gui!
1P 12:31:
First wave of the PP is scary. Second wave less so.
1P 14:17:
Shane Hnidy. Belted ... and penalized. What a start!
1P 15:30:
Intteresting pairing: Streit and Gorges
1P 16:32:
Shots are 7-1. Uncle Pessimism-pants does not believe his rheumy old eyes.
1P 17:58:
Are you kidding me?
On a play that begins with Glen Murray knocking Kovalev's helmet off, Pleks feeds Anddrei K. and Canaddiens are up 2-0.
Shots are 6-0
First time the Brothers K have scored in sequence.
1P 18:45:
JJeremy Reich bets Koisarek innto the boards.
1P 19:26:
Are you kidding me?
Sergei cashes a fat rebound off a Breeze drive from the point.
1-0
Charles Prévost-Linton:
A healthy scratch? Someone named Joe Kaiser is singing the anthems.
1P 20:00:
Here we go. Higgins to start, with Sergei K. and Ryder, Hamrlik and Brisebois against Lucic, Axelsson and Metropolit, Ward and Ference
New pre-game video!:
Phil Collins singing about "something in the air tonight". No kidding! The place is going nuts already. Photo of Béliveau, Cournoyer and Henri Richard: 31 Cups among them. Chris Higgins lifting, Andrei K taping his stick, Kovalev stickhandling, Saku Koivu jumping rope, lots of highlights and then the house band doing The Streets Have No Name
Packed pressbox:
My man Herb Zurkowsky is centring me and Jean-François Bégin of La Presse. Jack Todd is here, too. I think they're retiring his number.
White towels tonight:
And they're waving 'em already.
Bad? Maybe. But how big?:
Canadiens average: 6-1, 202 lbs. Bruins: 6-1, 202 lbs. And those numbers are inflated by Chara.
Comments:
I rashly told my lords and masters we'd hit 1,000 for a playoff game. Maybe not tonight, but oil your keyboards and turn your modems up to rock'n'roll, people. Don't make me look like Mr. Pants-on-fire-pants (followed, in due succession, by Mr. Fired-pants.)
The power play:
0-for-6 in the last two games against Boston
Spotted on my way to the Bell Centre:
Milan Lucic, trembling and having a couple drinks to steady his nerves after he heard Patrice Brisebois was playing and Ryan O'Byrne wasn't. Seriously, I see Carbonneau's reasoning: experience is important in the playoffs. Breeze played well down the stretch, and he's useful at the right point on the second wave of the power play. But man, these are the Bruins. Francis Bouillon is out, and Mike Komisarek is just back. I would have liked another wide body on D.
Share the agony and ecstasy of Habs fandom and read live blogs from every game with Gazette columnist Mike Boone.
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Can't wait for game 2! Carbo said that everyone would play and only those that played well would stay in. Does anybody know yet who's in and who's out?
Also Julien had some interesting comments:
http://habsbros.blogspot.com/2008/04/juliens-heartbreaking-account-of.ht...
Great start to the series. That is exactly what was expected of the team and they delivered.
I got a little question here. Has Saku ever played on the wing? As you have probably already garnered from that, I am interested in Higgins possibly moving to the centre position. This seems to be where his home is, especially as he excels at two-way play. Higgy didn't put up any points tonight but his play was an inspiration to the team. He is learning quickly how to take faceoffs, even thinking outside the box and kicking it back one instance where he was tied up. I'm not sure if this applies in the NHL, but I remember as a kid that the centre man always had the most responsibility defensively out of the forwards. Don't get me wrong, Saku is has great two way play and is a terror in the defensive zone, but I think he could be put to better use on the wing with sergei and chris. Just an idea, I dont know if it would work for koivu, but maybe worth a try next year or in a full out practise to see how it works.
On to the game.
Price - Shaky in the first, but you can tell this kid is just getting warmed up. He is a goalie that thrives on pressure and action. With our early dominance he seemed a bit complacent, but got right into the game when it really counted.
Kovalev - Made a couple pretty plays, but I bet that he knows he has to play better for the team to succeed so there is no need to worry. He will get rolling.
Smolinski - Holy SMOKES! Gainey seems like a genius. He must have had the playoffs in mind when he traded for this guy knowing he is gonna give it his all. Nice goal and hard work in the d zone. Great effort!
Brothers K - Tough enough to compete. Nice early goals. Will be integral as the playoffs move along. I dont see these two kids backing down.
Hamrlik - Rock solid. He stood people up all over the ice and showed he is here to compete. Other teams are gonna have a hard time putting him off his game.
Gorges - What can I say, I'm a big fan. My highlight was when he had his face pressed up against the boards and worked his butt of to keep the puck away from a forecheck which lead to a breakout for the red team.
Ryder - Looks like he might explode any minute. Once those shots start getting through... Watch Out!
Breezer - I hate to bash him, but he scares me with his sloppy play along the blueline. Not a horrible outing, and I think his veteran presence was a plus for the team.
I won't bore you all and go through every player, but these are the one's I thought were noteworthy.
Let's all get ready for game 2 and hope the habs come out with their hair on fire.
GO HABS GO
-JB
Aybara - Sorry to disagree but I'm not in love with Higgins at centre. He is only playing there now because Koivu is hurt and Grabovski and Chipchura aren't ready to take on the role just yet. He's doing OK but Koivu is a better fit and a better faceoff man. Besides, we need Higgins' size and grit on the wing.
The Original 24.2 Cups
i was checking the box scores on yahoo sports for tonight's games and i saw that mcribs was 1st star (2 assists, btw) but the interesting thing was that his bio picture was with a habs jersey.
i wouldn't normally post this kind of thing but i figured i'd do my part to help boone get his 1000. and mike, if you're reading this... thank you. you've been a big reason for my enjoying every habs game this season, win or lose.
I've had to take a little over two hours before I posted because I needed my heart rate to settle down.
Selfish as it might be to say, I wish the Bell Center held even more people because this is truly something everyone must experience in their lifetime: a Canadiens playoff game.
I knew what to do with the towel they were handing out the second I got it, and looked over at my step father who is my hockey partner and we smiled. We knew this was going to be incredibly special. But just how much, I wasnt prepared for.
The place was roaring, and I mean *roaring* before even the players had made their way on the ice. This was my first playoff game - ever - and from where my tickets are, I sit directly in front of George Gillet, where I've proudly sat all season.
Mr. Gillet, no matter how wealthy, or how badly he's handled the Liverpool scenario, actually loves this team. Here's a man who sits in his fancy box, with his fancy guests (Justin Trudeau was there tonight) who loves his hockey team. Gillet was part of the crowd tonight (albeit with a glass of wine in his hand). I was sitting near someone who made a pitiful replica of the Stanley Cup and George Gillet caught their attention and they were all screaming about being in the playoffs and that they love the team and "We're Number One!!!". Lots of thumbs up, smiles and "go habs go" being thrown around. It was actually really something to see (and dont think I didnt get involved myself!). This owner knows what the team means to this city, and you could tell in the way he interacted with them and made himself a part of them. And when Andrei scored, he jumped up, screamed with the crowd and pumped his fists "The brothers!" he shouted. He's a fan too. And thats what I really enjoyed about him. He has playoff fever. Needless to say, at the end of the night he shook hands with fans who took notice of him, smiled, joked and laughed with people.
Just being apart of that place was truly something magical. Seeing the twirling white towels on a backdrop of glistening red jerseys sent chills down my spine. My jaw is hurting from smiling so much. The place, as they say, was electric. But I think this time it was literal. We could probably power an entire city for a day or two - perhaps a global warming solution to energy consumption - the way people united together tonight.
The national anthem. Unbelievable. I've been to almost 30 games this season, and there was no way you were not going to sing tonight. The place was alive, everyone was singing. I had wondered if the players were too.
All this to say, it was an incredible experience (and thanks to those who have stuck it out to read the entire thing) even though its so clichéd to say. Though I suppose cliché's are probably written into the NHL PR strategies rulebook somewhere.
The only thing about my night that I wish to forget is walking back to my car and realizing I had been robbed. My car had been broken into, and all my Habs memorabilia had been stolen, along with my cds, among other things. I sat for a moment, and as violated as I felt, I realized that not even the robbery could take away from what I had just been apart of. I would not let it shadow this moment, because a feeling like this isn't easy to come by.
Bummer about your car, but I would trade my car gettin robbed for a night at the Bell center anyday.
I BLEED BLEU BLANC ET ROUGE!!!
Your car got robbed?!... that sucks.. rabid habs fans... lol! or perhaps angry bruin fans???
Drive For 25 Is Alive!
http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2008/04/10/canadiens...
Take a look at this link - great read...
Number 4 is my favorite...
I guess that he should add the Kostitsyn brothers to that list!
Sedins who?
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______________________________________
"All bow down before the Komisaurus Rex!"
I was at this game.
All I have to say is:
LES CANADIENS, LES CANA-DIENS. SONT. LA!
Not only did Bruins have few shots tonight, but they didn't have many chances in close and none from the doorstep. Besides their goal they had really nothing in close until the third period.
Check out the shot chart:
http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/shotchart?gameId=280410010
That Gorges quote is too darn good for me not to add to my signature. : )
1. www.flickeringpictures.com - not a hockey site, but still kinda neat
2. Josh Gorges on Montreal's speed: "They're comin', they're comin' and they keep comin'. Just line after line, wave after wave..."
Sounds like a fighter squadron. Perfect for your avatar picture. ;-)
Just noticed, hits were 37 for the Habs and 25 for the B's. Hammer and Lapierre led the Habs with 6 hits each.
__________
16 for 25 all for one
That hit by Hamrlik on whoever behind the net was a killer. I loved watching him tonight. Hope he can keep it up rest of the playoffs. Imagine how good he would be if he didn't have breezer as a partner?
GO HABS!!!
Was on Milan Lucic, which makes it particularly impressive. Lucic, along with Chara, is one of their strongest and most solid players.
He nailed Lucic twice on that shift
__________
16 for 25 all for one
Great game by the boys, all four lines contributed. Two goals by scorers, two by checkers, everyone chipped in. Perfect playoff game for us.
Props to BG, whose free agent signings all chipped in (Smoke, Kosto, Brisebois, Hammer), and to Carbo for playing Breezer who figured in the first goal with his point shot.
As long as we are able to dictate the pace of the game, the B's will have no chance.
Go Habs Go!
__________
16 for 25 all for one
come on ducks!!!! i want dallas to lose and then the ducks in the second round.
i want ducks and their goonery gone. . . can't stand socal hockey teams. i like traditional markets and dallas will not go far.
anyone watching the ridiculous # of calls against the flames in that game? like six in a row, with a prolonged 5 on 3 and a penalty early on the 5 on 3 beyond that. kiprusoff is good. really makes you appreciate our pp, though.
kipper looked bad on that goal
three penalties in a row to flames - couple of weak ones, in my opinion. see that rush by lombardi after the last pk?
Most posts on the Boone blog since March 3rd, when it broke 1,000. We got to get Mike some regular 1,000's as the playoffs progress!
Just got back from the Bell...we beat them at their own game! Highlight of the night a Begin/Kostopolous sandwich with Chara in the middle. Come to think of it the mustard too! Seriously we out hit them, outskated them and generally owned the Bruins on this night. If we can keep up playing this kind of game we'll have no problem. Offensively it wasn't a gem. The pp stuttered a bit and our cutesy stuff wasn't quite working tonight. Enter the grinders...Tom the Bomb, Smokin Smolinski and Beige the Rage! This game was won in the trenches and in controlling the open ice. Way to go Habs!
Nice game for Mtl. Everyone played tonight and they also missed at least 3 other super chances to score. The score could have been 6-1 had they cashed in on some high percentage plays/shots. However, the Bruins played like it was an early season matchup - slow, not much heart, and listless.
I'm gonna go against the flow here and say that I think Boston will roll over and play dead. They're done and this series can easily be over in 4 games, maybe 5 if Julien's troops have a spurt of energy and motivation. They just don't have the speed or firepower to make this a series. Montreal has dominated Boston for over a year and nothing's changed now that we're in the post season.
Boston players are going to get sick and tired of Julien's goofy grin when they're down by 2 or more goals.
Great game by the whole team. I thought Dandenault played like I've never seen him play. Latendresse seems built for playoff hockey. Lapierre, Kostopoulos, Begin, Smolinski.... all fantastic. The Kovalev line coulda had about 5 goals, and the Higgins line coulda had 3. Great game all around.
If I have to nitpick, I thought Ryder looked lost out there occasionally. I like the guy, and I think he's a great player, but he needs to go out there with full intensity every single shift. He'd play one hard and take the next off.
Price wasn't particularly tested, either. I hope he's in the zone when the shots start coming.
Overall, though, great game. I think -- and hope -- that Brisebois sits for O'Byrne when the series shifts to Boston and they outhit Boston in their own building. That would be fantastic, take all the air out of their arena!
4-1 is indicative of a low-scoring series?
So, the game plan was to outmuscle them - hit them hard - and stay out of the box.
It worked.
Mebbe the Broonz should give it a try.
What was that big hole the Habs kept scoring on? I call it the "Timbit".
JD
Boone goes to Gorges for the post-game comments, and his man-crush becomes even more apparent! :)
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"All bow down before the Komisaurus Rex!"
Yeah, I noticed that. He got so excited listening to him that at one point he started making all sorts of typos saved here for posterity: "I know as aa defencman if your're turning around and skating back for pucks all night long, getting hit, getting bumped, it wears you down. And yes, he did in fact forget to close the parentheses, that's not my typo.
I have this image in my head of boone looking starry-eyed up at his tall love interest, tape recorder in hand, beads of sweat on his brow, looking jealously at komisarek when he dropped by to break up their intimate moment with a quote of his own, at which point georges doubtlessly used the intrusion to escape to the shower.
man-crush, indeed. bordering on stalking, i suspect ;)
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