What a Difference a Year Makes

posted by Chris Aung-Thwin at 23h10 EST on Apr 13


558435238.jpg
2007/08 Alex Kovalev GP82 G35 A49 P84; +18 2008/09 Alex Kovalev GP78 G29 A39 P65; -4
2007/08 Tomas Plekanec G81 G29 A40 P69; +15 2008/09 Tomas Plekanec G80 G20 A19 P39; -9
2007/08 CH Mark Streit GP81 G13 A49 P62; -6 2008/09 NYI Mark Streit GP74 G16 A40 P56; +6
2007/08 Andrei Markov GP82 G16 A42 P58; +1 2008/09 Andrei Markov GP78 G12 A52 P68; -2
2007/08 Saku Koivu GP77 G16 A40 P56; -4 2008/09 Saku Koivu GP65 G16 A34 P50; +4
...

At this point last season, the high flying Habs were, well, flying high. Les Glorieux were surging into the playoffs full of confidence - first in the Eastern Conference; a dominant powerplay; a strong mix of veterans and youth; and a high-powered offense led by the top line of Alex Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn.
A year later the Habs are plummeting into the playoffs, wings clipped, expectations broken and instead of hope, question marks and uncertainty loom on the horizon.


2007/08 Andrei Kostitsyn GP78 G26 A27 P53; +15 2008/09 Andrei Kostitsyn GP74 G23 A18 P41; -7
2007/08 Christopher Higgins GP82 G27 A25 P52; 0 2008/09 Christopher Higgins GP57 G12 A11 P23; -1
2007/08 CH Michael Ryder GP70 G14 A17 P31; -4 2008/09 BOS Michael Ryder GP74 G27 A26 P53; +28
2007/08 Guillaume Latendresse GP73 G16 A11 P27; -2 2008/09 Guillaume Latendresse GP56 G14 A12 P26; +4
2007/08 Sergei Kostitsyn GP52 G9 A18 P27; +9 2008/09 Sergei Kostitsyn GP56 G8 A15 P23; -3
The Centennial Season has been no on-ice celebration. Pasquale. Gillet. Carbonneau. Barbershop. Losing streaks. Injuries.
The once vaunted powerplay, the Habs bread and butter last season, lost its potency. Goals scored were down. Goals against were up.
2007/08 GF257 GA216 GFA3.13 GAA2.63 2008/09 GF242 GA240 GFA2.95 GAA2.93
2007/08 PPG 90; PCT 24.1%; Rank 1st 2008/09 PPG 72; PCT 19.3%; Rank 13th
Not surprisingly, the production of several top-level players also dropped off considerably. The 07/08 top line fizzled and was broken up. Kovalev was reprimanded.
Along with lesser contributions from returning players, the team had to deal with two of the Habs top producers in 2007/08 leaving for free agency.
In 2008/09 Mark Streit led a dismal Islanders team with 56 hard-earned points. More impressively, the Swiss defensemen led the team with a (+/-) rating of +6, this on a team where the average rating was -575.
Michael Ryder, after toughing out a season on Guy Carbonneau’s naughty list, returned to form under Claude Julien. Ryder had a near 30-goal season and bounced back from a (+/-) rating of -4 to an impressive +28.
2007/08 Maxim Lapierre GP53 G7 A11 P18; +5 2008/09 Maxim Lapierre GP79 G15 A13 P28; +9
2007/08 Josh Gorges GP62 G0 A9 P9; 0 2008/09 Josh Gorges GP81 G4 A19 P23; +12
2007/08 Tom Kostopolous GP67 G7 A6 P13; -3 2008/09 Tom Kostopolous GP78 G8 A14 P22; -1
2007/08 Jaroslav Halak GP6 W2 L1 SV0.934% GAA2.11 2008/09 Jaroslav Halak GP34 W18 L14 SV0.915% GAA2.86
2007/08 Carey Price GP41 W24 L12 SV0.920% GAA2.56 2008/09 Carey Price GP52 W23 L16 SV0.905% GAA2.86
On Thursday, the Montreal Canadiens have the opportunity to put a forgettable year behind them. They can move past the (false) expectations created after last year’s surprising regular season accomplishments.
They can let go of scandals, economic uncertainties, and memories of a fallen coach.
At no point this season did the Habs look like we all hoped they would. So many times this year they were mediocre or almost great; they were adequate or just plain lousy.
They have the chance to wipe the slate clean and prove themselves not only as individuals, but as a team.
None of these numbers mean anything anymore.
Last year’s numbers mean nothing today. Last week’s numbers will mean nothing next week.
On Thursday the real season begins.
Go Habs Go.

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Comments

Submitted by Richrebellion on Thu, 04/16/2009 - 00:49.
I agree completely this is a new season and the stats only prove something that i already thot. This team has underacheived they are capable of more because they have shown it before. Everyone is saying they have no chance but if they play like their 2007/08 selves than anything is possible. I saw some stats that show weve been the same against the rest of the league just played worse against boston which is true but its not how many games we won last year its how we won them. Before markov went down they were on a stretch where they took advantage of worse teams and didnt let up on leads and simply destroyed teams. People say we havent seen the habs from last season all year but that was them. They played dominant hockey and if they steal a game without markov and if markov can be back for game 3 then I think this team has a great chance. This team has shown greatness in certain games this season taking out some good teams like detroit, the first period in san jose, the home game against calgary and chicago. Those were games where thee team didnt win by luck but because they simply outplayed their opponent. I say first period against san jose because if anyone remembers we were up 3-0 in the first and were playing with the best until they took their foot off the throttle and san jose came back. I think our biggest problem this season has been 2 things consistency and injuries. We have played good games just we havent been able to do it for long stretches. I think injuries have played a huge role in this team this season, almost every player has been out for a significant amount of time and that has hurt us. If for the playoffs we can play like they started to before markov went down and dont lose anyone they can pull off some magic no1 would expect in the playoffs. Just my view on our team that although everyone has counted them out if somehow they can get in line then this team has the capability to go all the way. Lets just hope markov has a speedy recovery!

Willy the bum's picture
Submitted by Willy the bum on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 23:16.
I'm gonna hurl over the numbers... :* ---------- "We all wore the uniforms as Maurice Richard did - the red, white and blue uniform of the Montréal Canadiens, the best hockey team in the world." - Roch Carrier

sanj91's picture
Submitted by sanj91 on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 17:08.
I decided that what we really need here at Habs I/O is a playoff fantasy pool. So I started one over at sportingnews.com. It's open to all members of the site. Just create a team name (I would suggest using your username so that we know who you are) and join the league. It's free and lots of fun. There's prizes for the first 200 people in the world, but really it's just for fun because placing in that 200 group is very hard as you can imagine. I believe the closest I've ever come is around 3000th. The details are below... Click on this link http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/hockey/playoffs/basic/home.html Make a team name Join an Existing League The league name is Habs I/O Best of luck!

andrewberkshire's picture
Submitted by andrewberkshire on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 21:31.
Stop spamming every article on the site 30 times already!!!!

sanj91's picture
Submitted by sanj91 on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 22:40.
I've posted it once on every article except for 2 in which I think I posted it 2 or at most 3 times. If it hurts you eyes, I apologize. I'm just trying to make sure everyone sees it so they can, if they wish, get in on what's looking to be a pretty competitive league with many intelligent poolies.

Ed's picture
Submitted by Ed on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 16:29.
Great analysis Chris. It's amazing how so many players from the one team could have such different stats in back to back seasons. The player who really has impressed me this year is Mark Streit, who still racked up the points on a very poor team, while playing huge minutes per game on the D. He always wanted to play D, & to me he proved this year that he can play it very well. I know a lot of fans criticize +/- figures, but you can't find any fault with Streit's +6, considering how poor defensively the Islanders were. I just don't know how he could possibly be a + player on that team, but he was. To me it's incredible.

Chris Aung-Thwin's picture
Submitted by Chris Aung-Thwin on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 19:15.
I agree - Streit has maybe been one of the best free agency signings of last summer. Too bad the rest of the team has sucked.

saskhab's picture
Submitted by saskhab on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 15:23.
Want some more #'s to show the difference between this year and last? Montreal's point total, 2007-08, excluding games vs. Boston: 88 in 74 games Montreal's point total, 2008-09, excluding games vs. Boston: 89 in 76 games Boston's point total, 2007-08, excluding games vs. Montreal: 93 in 74 games Boston's point total, 2008-09, excluding games vs. Montreal: 105 in 76 games Points gained in Montreal-Boston season series, 2007-08: MTL 16, BOS 1 Points gained in Montreal-Boston season series, 2008-09: BOS 11, MTL 4 This rivalry tends to throw a lot of stats out the window. The Habs aren't much different vs. the rest of the NHL this year in comparison to last. The Bruins improved not only against us, but against everyone else as well. The rest of the NHL does worse against Boston than against us, not only this year, but last year as well. We really aren't any worse than we were last year... Boston is simply that much better.

MikeL's picture
Submitted by MikeL on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 19:27.
One other thing to note is that we played Boston 8 times last year, and only 6 times this year - which skews the numbers even more.

Chris Aung-Thwin's picture
Submitted by Chris Aung-Thwin on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 19:13.
Those are some of the most interesting stats that I've seen in a long time.

punkster's picture
Submitted by punkster on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 09:32.
One game is the key and that is game one. Then game two. Then game three. And so on. Each game in sequence, one game at a time.

24 Cups's picture
Submitted by 24 Cups on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 08:13.
Chris - I've watched a lot of hockey over the years. If the Habs can gain a split on the road this week, then the door swings open. The whole key is to focus on winning one of those two games. If that happens, then we can re-convene back here on Sunday and reset our expectations. We can't let the regular season and the big picture divert us from the real task at hand - Gaineying a split in Boston. Going For The Brass Ring - 25 Cups In 100 Years

Chris Aung-Thwin's picture
Submitted by Chris Aung-Thwin on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 11:15.
To be honest - I feel that we have the edge in Game 1. I really think we can steal the first game and put the big bad Bs on their heels for the rest of the series. Gaineying a split is right. Game 1 is all about coaching - being prepared, being calm, and focusing on the one play, one shift, one inch. Let's hope the boys follow the game plan.

oshawahabsfan's picture
Submitted by oshawahabsfan on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 03:05.
Amen! Forget the regular season numbers. Gainey will use him time wisely and the guys will be ready and hungry to take on the Bruins. We can win this series if we do what we do best, score lots of goals on Tim Thomas

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