The Trade Deadline - A Dissapointment For Some

Our beloved bandwagonners are at it again. Not only does their average hockey knowledge rival that of a hedgehog, but it seems these Epsilons are around to cheer when we win and cry when we don't. I don't even know a proper adjective to describe the uneasy feelings I had after reading such comments as "Bob Gainey has no idea what he's doing" "we're the laughing stock of the league" "we suck so much" and even the likes of "oh my god...we haven't traded anyone...this sux...I wan to die...I'm so sad"

What in the blue blazing, Tiger Woods praising, Leprecon chasing are these people playing. This is not a "who can trade the most and best" game. This is about constant improvement...never taking a step back and taking. It is about calculated risks, calculated return on investments and calculated decisions. I hate to generalise, but I can only assume this bunch of cradle GMs are too young to understand any of this so here is a free lesson in maturity from HLD. When one says such things it completely rids you of any level of respect. If you are incapable of reason, at least don't say something for the sake of talking...you'll be much better off.

I sincerely apologise for bickering about this, but this group has reached an all time low in their attitude and comments. Worse part is that I'm fairly certain they are the majority in here, and that saddens me. Too bad they are too focused on whining to come in here and learn a little something about hockey, patience, trust and respect.

With that said, let's talk about the trade deadline. Although it would have been nice to bring in some big names, and that it sux having to see all the teams in the race improve on paper I don't think any of us can be surprised about the outcome. This is what Bob does...this is his formula that gave his clubs success and brought in cups. It's not the only formula that works, but in my opinion not only is it the time proven best, but also in a place like Montreal with the realities of 40% taxes and media pressure it is the only one that will work.

We did not get any worse, and thanks to our astute GM, our future is still as brignt as the brightest. We are a very well balanced team and will remain that way. One day, when the time is right, we’ll give away the draft picks and prospects to make a legit run at the cup. This is the realities of the new NHL and is essentially the only way to win a cup. A dynasty will be hard to come by (i.e. hard to imagine a team win more than 1 cup in a 2-3 years type of pace). This year, as was in the previous ones, the time just wasn’t right. It wasn’t even close, and I am very glad Gainey didn’t put up a “Everything must go” sign at the Bell center to get a few names, make it to the second round, and have nothing to work with for the next 5 years. I would rather see my team compete legitimately for the last few places for the playoffs every year and slowly improve, than to have a see-saw career, be a top team for a few years, and watch them bring in 20 wins for the next few. This of course is just my ignorant opinion. If we go by a majority rules the norms perspective, than I am one tripped out, foolish, dude who knows nothing about anything, especially hockey” (yes this was also posted by a user in the forum in response to someone with a similar viewpoint as mine).

90% Will Get The Job Done...Most Of The Time

"Beginning the game strong and fading away after 5 minutes will not do it. "

My fellow MNers, please join hands and pray with me. Oh mighty Sponge Bob, we thank you for blessing us with an astute General Manager to sign this moody magician we call Kovalev. And oh holy Sponge Bob thank you for using your grand powers to ensure this Russian Rifle had a mighty heart last night. If we hadn't scored within 30 seconds of the Leafs goal, despite our magnificent start we would have once again faded away for the rest of the game, leading to yet another spanking by the anti-bobs playing from the west. Oh our all mighty Sponge Bob, in return for this bounty we offer you two dozen sacrificial souls who await you at the Air Canada Center. Granted, they are Maple Leafs so they're not much, but the whole roster should add up to something worthy of you troubles.

[QUOTE=Habs_Lovin'_Dag]Abby will have to bring his A game ... And by A I mean attentive. No softies, and don't let in the first goal on their first couple of shots[/QUOTE]

FAIL! And what a failure by Abby in his role. Since Huets injury he had two huge chances to establish him self as the number 1 goalie, and failed spectacularly at it. As has been pointed out earlier in the page by mighty Sponge Bob's disciple HTL, he has not been able to regain his form from earlier in the season. He had a few chances to steal the #1 spot from Huet beginning with Huets diminished performance in late December. Sure he was benched, and was cold, but that's hardly am excuse. When you're a back-up, you sit out unless the top guy looses his mojo or gets injured. You practice, stay sharp and prove your self when you get your chances. Case in point, remember how Huet stole the job from his counter part last year? He had his chances and failed. He is a good back-up goalie and from the looks of it will finish it there.

All that to say, cue Halak. And what better way to really establish him self with another win tonight?

"Everybody will have to be at their best, do their jobs properly and keep it up for 60 minutes...twice in two days. "

The majority of the team was grinding at 110% last night. A few brain farts in our end lead to a few turn-overs which created a few momentum shifts. But that's OK because for the most part we were quick to take control of the game back in our hands with a good shift by the 4th line, or a good PK, or a great individual effort by our impact players (thank you Sponge Bob).

Let's not celebrate just yet though. We have another big game tonight, and we have to get two more points. We're still out of the picture in NL standings, and if we want to jump in the brew, we must hold our NL at and hope the other teams pick up a few NLs.

Goodbye Rivet

Goodbye Rivet, you've been great and we've loved having you with us through good times and the bad. Too bad you were not able to finish your career here, but such is the nature of the beast.

Now for tonight’s game. Need I reiterate the importance of the next 48 hours? A minimum of 3/4 points is a must, but two wins are pretty much necessary following Saturday's poor outing.

If the boys still don't come out with heart, than they ar really looking to work on their golf swing and change careers. Toronto, as usual will come out playing 110% and we will need to be at our best to beat them. Beginning the game strong and fading away after 5 minutes will not do it either. Abby will have to bring his A game ... And by A I mean attentive. No softies, and don't let in the first goal on their first couple of shots.

Everybody will have to be at their best, do their jobs properly and keep it up for 60 minutes...twice in two days. Here is another chance to prove them selves and take matters in to their own hands. Let's see what they do.

Too Little Too Late

Superb effort, scoring chances coming out of the wazoo, what excitement. We were getting a shot on goal every 20 secs and had a solid scoring chance every minute. We were playing great and it was refreshing to see. Too bad this was only the last 5-7 minutes of the third. Too little too late.

How do two guys who worked till they dropped like Carbonneau and Muller make a team understand one must play a full 60 regardless of the scoreboard every night?

This is all I have to say about last night’s game. At a time when we have our backs against the wall, for a 4 point game with a team we are in direct contention in, if we come out flat like this, it does worry me a little.

I sure hope they can make it up tomorrow night with a spirited effort against the Leafs, and another win on Tuesday, if not we will have endured a huge kick in the proverbial crotch.

Still Do Oe Die

Another matinee game…what’s our record with these type of games anyway? We must be below 0.500. I sure hope the boys are awake for this one, because it is a very very important game. Not only is it a 4 point game, but coupled with a loss to the Leafs tonight, we can finally be masters of our own destiny once again.
The game plan should be simple: ”Stay out of the box!” Easier said than done however, because we cannot get away with the same things as the other tem, so the players don’t know how to gauge the refs’ limits. Plus they change from period to period, and the players can’t play without touching the opposition. The boys will just have to make a real conscious effort to never present them selves in a situation that might even resemble the slightest infraction. An added stress I know, but it should pay off in the long run.
I haven’t much to say about tonight’s …err….this afternoon’s game. I just cannot stress how spectacularly important these next two games are in terms of our positioning, and team morel. So here’s hoping :towel: Say it with me MN thread:

GO HABS GO!

Things Are Good, But Far From OK

The team keeps working, MN keeps dropping but we're not out of the woods yet. Our oppositions keep winning and despite being in seventh in points, NL shows a more accurate picture. There is no room to relax or let up. Looks like we'll have to grind all the way to April.

With that said, what a spirited come back for the boys! Good on the goalie for staying focused after going down 2-0 within 5 minutes in against the top contender for the cup. At around 5:30 when the deflection best Halak, I heard 50,000 TVs click off. I feel sorry for those chaps who will wake up this morning, check out the paper and realise they missed a heck of a game.

That was possibly our best game of the year with respect to our 5-5 play. Too bad the refs started the game off on a bad note with incomprehensible brain spasms of penalties called on Markhov and Guillaume. End result however was A OK.

I am entirely impressed by the performance of the team, fighting to come back. At a time where we question their heart, they dished out a come back to shut all the critics up.

These are all positive signs. Having won a game against Nashville via battling a two goal deficit three times means a lot more than potting a couple in the first and coasting to a "W". Furthermore, looking back at our mini stretch here, the goalie was short of superb, but got the job done, and our "key" player who are not injured have been performing to par.

Last night Samsonov did what we all expected him to do all season long, and he has been doing so since the ugly waiver incident. Although it left a bad taste in ones mouth, the coaching staff’s actions and gambles seem to have paid off, because we now have our Free agent who was signed during the summer. Let's just say he was "injured" this whole time, and now he's in the lone up. We'll need him to remain "healthy" if we want to go in to the playoffs and some.

Things are looking good folks. Much better than anything we've seen for a while, and it's about time. But let me remind you once again we are far from being out of the lion's den. Our current situation is still very tight, but at least now we're headed in the right direction.

PS Sorry to disappoint you all but the NL standings have not changed since everyone picked up points last night. The only way to move up NL will be for us to win in NY and the laughs to loose in regulation. Than on Sunday’s update we’ll be in 8^th. Following that any loss (regulation or OT/SO) to the Islanders could aid us in climbing to seventh. Needless to say we need to keep winning, and they need to keep loosing.

Keep The Ball Rolling

Tonight could be the night we get our fate back in our hands. I don’t like being on the outside looking in, so I hope the Boys play desperate hockey and take one against arguably the best team in the league. Situations of the sort seem to bring the best in us, so we’ll see what happens.

Guy Carbonneau has to start Halak in net tonight in order to reward him. The team is on a mini-roll so DON’T CHANGE A THING. If we score the first goal or two once again tonight, I will be watching our defensive play and Halak closely once again to see whether we’ve learned our lesson (hardly doubt it) or if we’ll be slacking off until they catch up again. The last thing we want to do with as team like Nashville is give them the momentum so I sure hope the coaching staff can bring out the Carbonneau in all of them so they keep working and keep trying to score goals, even if we’re up by 10 (that would be nice wouldn’t it!)

Looks like Higgins is back, and I sure hope he’s not being rushed in. But having the first line play the way we know it can has definitely been a sight for soar eyes. We will need everything they can give us. Our second line is working hard. They’ll be scoring as of two weeks from now once we get our mystery man in there which we’ll be getting for Souray.

Man BG is a genius! He could have pulled the trigger on a deal with San Jose (speculation people…just my educated guess) a long time ago, but by waiting till the deadline he gets all the GMs salivating and competing for him. I am looking forward to getting someone who will add value now and in the future in return for Souray. This will give us the offensive power to help with a charge…I hope.

So far A+

The test was delivered to Halak, with some trick questions and he passed. Sceptics may argue that Halak won two games by very close calls against some of the worse teams in the NHL, and that there isn't anything special there. Here is how I see it and I'll give 3 reasons why I think he's the real deal:

1) One of the toughest things for a goalie is to go cold for extended periods of time, and than be presented with a rush or power play where he has to make the key saves. One of the key attributes that made Ken Dryden arguable one of NHL's best goalies of all tomes candidate was his capability to spend whole periods, leaning on his stick, watching the team in front of him toy around with the opposition like a cat does with a half dead mouse before eating it, and all of a sudden be faced with an odd man rush and make a spectacular save to keep his team in the lead.

Halak made the saves when it counted in the first, and the two goals I'm the second were not softies by a long shot. He made the stops when it counted,

2) Maybe it was the mushrooms on my pizza, but I can swear I saw stick handling by the dude with the pads which put half our bench to shame. Halak's willingness, capability and comfort to come out of the net is one thing that shows how ready he is for the position. However having him play the puck to launch the transition game is not only a positive addition to our momentum, but was also highly successful. I can count at least 5 odd man rushes that began with Halak. Keep in mind these were not pucks dumped behind the net, shot off the boards, or long hail Maries to the other blue line. These were precise passes up the ice, tape to tape, and would trapped 2-3 of the fore-checking Caps behind the play. Here is something that will really help us deal with our Kryptonite (aggressive fore-check)

3) To the argument that the two wins accumulated with Halak in net are not true tests since the teams were bottom feeders of the league. I say pish-posh. We have had so much difficulty against these so called “bottom feeders”. I give credit to Halak for staying focused for 60 minutes and not taking anything for granted.

That’s my two cents on the matter. However I still caution all of you that nothing is for certain. He still has a long way to go to establish him self as a “saviour”, but at least so far he’s headed in the right direction, and all systems are go.

Test Number 2

Tonight will be a bigger test to Halak than Sunday was. On Sunday he had nothing to prove and nothing to be compared to. In a city where a player can get crucified upon demonstration of a decrease in performance from week to week, Halak now has to match or better his performance from Sunday, and prove that Sunday was not a fluke. This is at least what would be going through my mind if I was a 21 year old goalie being called up in to the NHL to save my team from the sand pits it's been sinking into for over a month.

Halak came across as a calm and collective kid in net, just doing his job to the best of his abilities without any regard to what is happening beyond his crease. The way he cam far out of his net to play pucks (rather successfully I might add) shows what a comfort zone he's in. Perhaps it's fitting that he has a HAB holding up the Stanley cup on his helmet, because his Zen and focussed play launched the team in to their own "happy place".

To this I say, proceed with caution. The kid has what it takes and the makings are there for a big charge into the playoffs, but nothing is for certain, and he has only played one game. Although I feel that Halak will do what Huet did for us last year, I am still sceptical and proceeding with caution and baby steps. For now, I am getting psyched for tonight's game and will be cheering the Tricolore as loud as I can without waking up the baby.

The Miracle Begins On The Right Foot

Good morning all and once again many apologies for skipping yesterday's post. There wouldn't have been much to say in any case without sounding like a broken record.

I also noticed that there was an “MN update” out there in the previous page. It’s a cheap knock people, don’t buy it unless it has the HLD brand on it :mrgreen: And for future reference, if anyone wants to plagiarise my official MN updates (which you shouldn’t) at least get it right. The MN is now 44 ;)

So Halak made the key saves when it counted. Too bad he didn't get his shutout, but it could be a lot worse. I hope, and am fairly certain that he will be starting in net on Tuesday night as well, and that his surprising cool, calm and confidence leads us to a charge in the standings, back up in the right direction.

Hmmmmm.......a cool, calm collective back up goalie comes in to play late in the season and leads a team which is out of the playoffs right back in the race......sounds awefully familiar but I just can't put me finger on it.

In any case we are in the realm of speculation and wishing and hoping. Still better than the alternative ...no?

Oh and on a final note, it was good to see another positive thread in the forum (Calling to Arms) Seems we’re not the only positive betties. Someone should let them know that we do that here all year round, not just when the fans get blood hungry.

Now close it off NWT with a w00t, HTL with a w00t w00t, and mateus give it a w00t a t00t t00t.

Looking For A Dryden Miracle

In the hopes of a miracle and a world of what ifs, it seems appropriate that we retired Ken Dryden’s Jersey this year. With Halak being called up late in the season, maybe he can jump in net and have a repeat performance of the Dryden “get called up from the farm team late in the season and bring us to the cup” show.

I read an article on the RDS web-site about how Halak should be played, starting tonight, and I fully agree. He’s got major mojo going for him, which this team is in desperate need of. I say throw him in there and see what he can do. If he cannot jolt this team in the right direction, than no biggie….we’re right back where we started. But maybe, just maybe he can do what Huet did last year for us, what Ward did for the Canes, and what Dryden did whole making history, and be the surprise late comer and just drag this team up the standings by its heels.

On a final note, it is no secret that the mood is bleek in here…yes even in the MN thread. OK it’s not so bad in here compared to the rest of the forum (have you guys been out there :shock: people are getting crazy…I even saw someone suggest trading Koivu for Tucker :ahh:)

In any case I always try to cheer you guys up so today I’ll go with a different strategy. OK….you ready….

UUUGULY BOOGOLIIEEE…..WOBBLE WOBBLE BLAAAAAH….

Did it work? Are you smiling yet? It’s 100% effective with my son so I though I would give it a shot in here. :mrgreen:

No He's Not Confused...

OH YEAH!!! What a game! Complete domination from beginning to end leading to the NHL's Holy Grail and it was sweet sweet pay back to those pesky Hurricanes.

The tone was set by the HABS early on in the first period with Samsonov's goal. A laser beam of a pass from our zone, and off goes Samsonov. By the time he was done with Ward, the goalie was collecting his jock strap from the third row and Sammy was gently pushing the puck in on the left side.

Williams was clearly singled out by our fourth line, and it wasn't long before he was out with a shoulder injury.

The rest of the period was spent mainly in the Canes zone. At all times the HABS had two players in the front of the net, which resulted in two more goals off of deflections on shots from the point.

Carolina came out on the second physical and aggressive after having been schooled on the first. Although this seemed to grab the HABS off guard, we adjusted. Koivu took it up on him self and dropped the gloves with Brin d'Amour and came out the clean winner. This was the end of the come back the Canes tried to stage.

In the third, one more goal deflected from the blue line my Koivu added insult to injury, and Begin delivered the Cherry on top with a sweet move to cut in towards Ward and laid one top shelf on the blocker side.

All in all it was as good as a team effort can get. We won the physical battle and won the score board 5-0. Complete domination of the Canes lead to the Heart Ross trophy, the Rocket Richard trophy and the Stanley cup. It was truly a night to remember.

Note to the reader: This game analysis refers to the final game of the Stanley Cup Finals played last night against Carolina. For 2 months I have been participating in an online league hosted on XBOX Live NHL 2K7. Two months of effort came to an end last night, and I thought I would share it since it was the HABS game with the more favourable outcome.

As far as the real (Florida) game was concerned, Huet seemed to find his confidence back, which was positive. Also the offensive explosion at the end of the third, although too little too late) was a reminder to us all what this team is capable of, which is also a positive.

I'll leave it on those good notes, except one comment I wanted to make. You have to feel sorry for Samsonov. He's going through the roughest patch of his career, he's had a shaky relationship with his current team, and now the opposition has clearance from the league to dry hump him until he comes crashing to the ice surface, without penalty. Now the guy has to drag a 200 pound guy with him while trying to find his mojo? Poor guy just can't get a break.

Just Keep Smiling

What a happy and positive bunch of guys and gals we are! I was glad to get home late last night, log on to my computer to send come e-mail, sneak on the thread very quickly and see the overwhelming positive response. It's good to see we have not forgotten about the heart and soul of this thread, and that we are loyal to the tone of this thread.

Mr. Boustician, 0 is our number. Everybody else, keep the cheers coming as much as you can. Some may find them pretentious, but I for on am uplifted and ready for a charge.

What's even more encouraging is that this positive attitude is not limited to our humble little thread in the middle of cyberspace, but extends to the HABS locker room. Sheldon Souray's comments during an interview yesterday shows that the team has not given up and are ready for a paradigm shift.

Remember guys and gals, boys and girls, dudes and dudettes, sometimes your team needs a reality check, sometimes they need constructive criticism, sometimes they need a harsh slap in the face and sometimes they just need your blind loyal support. Currently I think we're at the latter option. Keep your chin up, don't kick em while they're down and w00t till you're blue in the face....

It Just Keeps Getting Tougher!

There is really not much I can say about last night’s game. The effort was there for he majority of the part. A weak goal was let in and we lost a few, but in all we stayed in it. The reffing was the best I have seen in a while.

I really don’t know how to make light of the situation. This slump (yes unfortunately we’re still in it and it looks like we’ll have the cob webs till the end) has gone on for too long, and I have ran out of euphemisms. All I can do is cheer on and hope something good happens (like Sammy come back and score 10 goals in one night). Anything to get the confidence back to the team. We all know how this team plays when they’re confident (oh how I miss those days!)

If I take a step back and think about the most probable way things will turn back around for us, it will all begin with the goalie…much like it did last year. Someone Huet or Aebi will have to go on a hot streak that would make Dominic Hashek him self look bad. From there the confidence will build out to the blue line and finally offence and things can get back to normal.

Not much I can say folks. There isn’t much else to say that hasn’t been beaten to death already. At this point the choice is really up to you. You can join the masses in assigning guilt to who ever you want, or you can just let things evolve, hope for the best, and cheer for the team you are a “fan” of.

Maybe A Second Chance

If I had more time for yesterday's update, I would have liked to talk about the scape-goating mob that has come out of the bandwagonners. The same phenomenon happens every year and when we make the playoffs' they'll all be "cheering for the team and players they never lost fate in". I was going to make this whole exaggeration of our hero from earlier in the season (captain Saku Koivu) would be the next victim of scape-goating and trade wishes and rumours.

I seldom logged on yesterday, and was horrified to see that it has come to that. Yes I saw post blaming solely him self and his line and saw wish lists for trades involving him.

What must one do to get this crowd of Epsilons to understand thus is a team sport, and the successes and failures are seldom based on one player. That is all I will say about that subject.

This waiver exercise with Samsonov had less to do with trading him away as it was a lesson in humility. A cunning strategy by the management that in my opinion will pay off.

Samsonov is well aware now that a trade is out of the question, not because his management didn't try (I think they have been trying), but no one wants him. We're stuck with him and he's stuck with us. Only way out is to perform and get his numbers up.

Furthermore, in the case of an athlete who is plagued by self doubt, nothing could be better than publicly hitting rock bottom in one big giant ball of failure. You're thinking has Number 1 lost it? I'm fairly certain I did...after the second week of sleep deprivation and exhaustion but I know what I'm talking about here and anyone who plays golf will know exactly what I'm talking about. When things get as bad as they possibly can, you are no longer plagued with thoughts of "what if I mis-play" "what if I get embarrassed" "what if it doesn't work" "what if I play bad" etc...

Now that the plague of what ifs are gone, I believe Samsonov is on the way to becoming one of our key players for the stretch. If I'm the coach and I publicly state we can start from 0, I put him on the 1st line and leave him there for 10 games minimum. Although I am fairly certain that Koivu and Sammy could gel together nicely with Streit or Guillaume and there would be no need to change a thing.

Let’s see what happens for tonight. Chances are he'll begin his "come back" on the third line. Time will tell how this will pan out.

Samsonov's Gone in 3....2....1....

We have been talking about trades in recent times, and Samsonov seems to be a stones throw away from Chicago with the looks of it. At this time it would be wise to point out a few things.

First off, it is no secret this team, with its current members has proven capable of dancing with the best of them. Earlier on in the season, prior to our yearly post holiday slump, the team posed no doubt in our minds of making a serious run at the cup. Since then the synergy and the chemistry in the locker room has faded. A trade will only make thi matter worse by instilling doubt and fear in to peoples minds. So why have we been talking about it? Because at a certain point things will get to a dead end stand still, and a trade will remain the second to last plan to (just before firing the coach) to try and jolt this team. Does a kick in the proverbial but guarantee a fix? Not in the least. However it will lead to change. No guarantees that the change will be for the better, but when things are bad enough, odds are in your favour that things will only get better.

Every bit of hockey and HABS sense I have points to this being a secondary motivation for Bob with respect to Samsonov. A deal is practically done. Whether he’s goin g to Chicago or somewhere else, I knew (and maybe the historian can find this update) the day Samsonov spoke out after being benched and questioned his coach publicly, that Bob would begin to shop him around. His trade has less to do with shaking the team up, as it does with Samsonov following the path of the other rotten eggs we had in the locker room. Since Gainey’s involvement with the team, players with bad attitudes, no matter their skill level, have been banished one at a time, and the next in line is Samsonov.

Whether he has publicly requested a trade (just another sign of his personality) or not, he will be traded. He sealed his fate long ago. I do wish him the best of luck wherever he may end up, and I’m sure that he will, like most players who leave Montreal, end the season with a bang. However no matter what numbers he puts up, I’m glad we have a GM who puts sportsmanship on as high a pedestal as winning, and does not compromise an inch. There is a man who has his ethics, and that cannot be said about too many GM in any sport.

One more point I’ll throw out there is that knowing Gainey’s ability to foresee things beyond any of our visions, we will probably obtain a player in return for Samsonov that will make any sense in terms of our need for the roster. Rest assured that there is always more behind the scenes and eventually the pieces will fall in to place (case in point Carey Price). SO be patient and keep close to your PC’s and TV’s cause whatever’s going down, it’s happening soon and will get us all going "huh?"

The Beginning Of The Demise For Syd The Kid

Yesterday's win had the full spectrum of excitement. It was a win, in a high emotion game, during a mini-rivalry, and being shafted by the refs. All these combine to make a brand of hockey I can get used to, but my heart has no capabilities for.

Syd the diver was back at his cinematics again, and if he doesn't get warnings from the NHL he'll continue tp dive and tarnish an ecstatic career which awaits him. Unfortunately he is not playing for a coach who cares for or mentors his players, but rather gets them caught up in his high emotions which crosses the line every other game. The future of our sport will be influenced by Crosby's style. Unless Therien gets the boot or Crosby leaves Pittsburg, unfortunately he's headed in a bad direction and Crosby's 19 year old over stimulated ego and "maturity" will not work it out for him self.

Man am I glad to be a HABS fan and have an honourable GM who hires honourable coaches, who in turn coaches a honourable bunch of kids. I know how it feels like to watch one of our guys take a big dive (oh Ribeiro) and it's very embarrassing. The result of the game almost has no meaning over the feeling of filth. Thank goodness we have not had something of the sort in a long long time.

All I can say to our boys is keep fighting the good fight. Don't give in to cheap antics. I would rather loose a game by getting shafted by the officials, than to draw unmerited penalties for a win. Than again that is just my opinion and I'm sure a significant portion of fans would prefer the latter. At least my conscious is clean, and so is the one in our locker room. "To you we

So What's The Excuse This Time?

I’m not sure what that was yesterday, but it was not the same team as Thursday night. Perhaps the boys had their minds on today’s game and couldn’t get focused on that game, but that would be just as worse as doing their “Jerry wana be acts”.

Now we are below the Penguins on NL and the HABS have the additional pressure of knowing that if we loose, the Pens tie us in points.

I’m going to save judgment on this situation until tomorrow’s update because if they win decisively today, than they have just been focused on Crosby’s dives and Armstrong’s assaults, and just want to win the series and send the Pens a clear message. Loosing yesterday’s game on account of focusing on today’s game is wrong, but forgivable, if they do play and win. If not, my judgment would be slightly more sever than that. We’ll see what happens.

Oh and on a last note, the Pens claim Armstrong is injured after his altercation with Souray, If I recall he played another 10-15 mintes that game and picked up points. So was this an injury with a time delay, or was it a bullet in the foiot following the quotes from the HABS players about Sunday’s game?

I never like Michelle Therrien. A coach should not behave in such a weak, emotional manner crying at times, whining about his players all the time and muttering death threats to the opposition’s bench. Under his leadership so far I have seen Armostrong lay the cheapest of shots (leagel but cheap), avoid the consequences from the official, and run away from the consequences from the bench, and worse I have seen the ambassador of hockey become a cheap dirty woosy diver (sorry Crosb…all the respect for you, your talents and accomplishments, but much like Briere and Iginla, once I see you dive, the rest is as they say history). The best things the Pens can do following the move into a new arena would be to dump Therrien and get an honorable coach. Cheap shots and cheap tricks should not be part of a game plan, nor should they be rewarded. Therrien is a pest which has tainted more than one NHL team, and in my humble opinion, the sooner he gets the boot the better.

Long Story Short...

Yesterday's post was getting much too long and so I had to cut it in half. The down side was however, that everything I wanted to say has already been said. So without going in to details and sounding like a broken record, I just want to reiterate the fact that Souray stuck up for Koivu showed great team spirit, the fact that the team fought so hard with so much passion showed team unity across the bench, and Carb's as well as Gainey's public comments showed team unity and spirit behind the bench. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that such devotion and loyalty for ones team mates and coach can only mean good things.

keep in mind that the Canadiens' superb success at the beginning of the year was reasoned by many to be associated with the tight camaraderie between the players. During the slump, not that the team turned on one another, but there were fingers being pointed whether it was vocal or not.

The intensity and/or the lack of our team spirit was neither the sole cause of the slump, nor is it going to fix everything. But it is just another good sign that things are headed in the right direction.

The results over the weekend will be a great indication of whether that game was a fluke, or if we are getting back on track. And I really hope Higgins appreciates how much faith his coach put in him on Thursday and repays the team with a superb performance against the Isles and then a spectacular one against the Pens.

HOW TO REF IN THE NEW NHL 101 - PENALISE THE HABS

First of my eternal gratitude goes out to Maxime Lapierre. Thanks to him and Crosby's immaturity, we have been blessed with an exciting and emotional two game series which will send many running for their heart medicines during the rare commercial brake. Whether we win or loose the series, playing two high emotional games can only help in reviving the lost pulse of our team.

We've seen signs of life lately the most recent one being Don Souray's definitive message in the second period. You can rest assured the Pens will have their heads up when Souray's on the ice on Sunday.

The only down side to Souray handing out a can of whoopass was the grose negligence and trigger happiness of Don Coharsky. The 2-5-10-game misconduct to Souray was a major mental spasm to say the least. But the cherry on the top was the decision to let this guy who assaulted Koivu and drop the gloves against Souray get away with just a major for fighting...I mean a minor for charging or boarding or roughing...wait a minute did he get away with no penalty?! Well if he doesn't get major for fighting and Souray gets a five for fighting AND a two for INSTIGATING I ask you Dan, who did Souray instigate a non existing fight with? Oh it was that leprecon again? Well if you're out of pills I'm sure Mecgouh can lend you a few.

Now understand that many (not all) of these calls were up to interpretation and its up to the refs to decide. They make mistakes and unfortunately in Montreal we are constantly reminded of this. My problem with last night however is that all interpretations were one sided...as if you had one side favoured. If you are really going to burden a team with a seven minute penalty (keep in mind one of them was a major) you best absolutely positive that the sequence in your head is exactly what happened. The interpretation of the ref was that: 1) the guy getting whooped did not drop the gloves (so no major to him) and 2) Souray kept hitting Armstrong while he was just trying to protect him self. I find it extremely difficult to believe that none of the refs (especially the one trying to pull Souray off his traumatized victim) saw Souray getting punched in the face twice. This leads me to believe that either Coharsky did not listen to his linesmen or the linesmen did not speak up during this gross miss-sentencing. Either way all the refs on the ice failed their jobs simultaneously and with their boss present in the arena I wonder what the repercussions will be? Nothing I presume.

Now that I have that off my chest I have learnt two lessons from this. 1) Some of the refs do not hesitate to go on a hunch in calling penalties. In some cases (such as last night) it is a game deciding decision. The NHL must crack down on the officials who make such obvious mistakes on game deciding goals/7 minute penalties or anything of this nature.

Lesson #2) Souray, if you're going to pummel someone, don't make it so one sided. Remember what happened in Calgary? Again it was the rare occasion where you dropped the gloves and you damn near changed his face forever. Let the poor saps get in the first few punches and then you can annihilate them.

Part Two of this game discussion will follow tomorrow (with all the good stuff we did and how proud I am of our team for sticking in there and getting that point).

Penguins Fantasies

The hot hand gets the nod for the night. And he'll have to remain upwards of 100 degrees Celsius to stop the Penguins, mainly the 200 degree Crosby. The Pens are on more than just a roll. They're playing a more open desperation type of game. Not to say that they are a desperate team, far from it. But the young, energetic and talented core of this team brings this almost naive and fearless attitude to the ice. We should all be so lucky to have a team like this. In fact the Quebec Penguins not only sound nice, but comply with the strict regulations of "the Office de la Langue Francais". on the other hand I don't think I can handle being schooled by Quebec city's team for the next decade since we all know what this team could accomplishing if they remain with the same roster.

This brings me to my next Penguins fantasy. The reality of the new NHL is that once a team travels deep in to the off-season, or wins Lord Stanley's cup, all the players' values grow incrementally. As such it is difficult to keep the same roster, and damn near impossible to keep all your top guys. Furthermore there is no doubt in my mind that in the very near future the Pens the Pens will make a serious run at the cup, or even win it. So what if Crosby moves on to another team? Say a team he has admired since his childhood? I'm salivating more than Pit-bull staring at a T-Bone at the prospect of seeing Crosby in a HABS jersey. Wouldn’t that be something!

OK I know there is no way the Penguins would move to Quebec, and even less of a chance that Crosby will play as a HAB, but a man can dream can't he...

I don’t think I have to point out to anyone that a loss to the Pens tonight will result in a drop in NL standings, so this game is rendered even more important.