IT WAS A GREAT TRIP, BUT ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END:

When I get up in the morning, my first brainwave is always to stumble down the stairs, avoid the myriad of booby traps in the form of squeaky, slippy and noisy toys, make it past the biohazard zone of the gas fields generated by Zorro the beagle, and get to the coffee. That first sip is like rebirth, and soon after the cogs begin to churn. Usually not too long after, my second brain wave has been to get on to the MN thread and post my updates. For three years I have spend a significant portion of my morning routine, ranting about the shortcomings, and emphasizing the positives, and once in a while going off on an imaginary tangent, which has led to the introduction of the like of Jerry, Cat suit man, and others.

The time has come however for this coffee and number junky to move on to other things. I will need to focus on my family and professional career for the next year or so, and so will not have the time to commit to this thread. I will remain as a leisurely user, and rest assured I will continue to write my pieces (for whatever they are worth), but they will be on a once per week basis.

So this is to say that I step down as Number 1, and leave my place for the new generations to take over. Perhaps in a year I’ll pick up where I left off, but for the remainder of this season I will enjoy using the thread, instead of running it.

So as such, I have been asked by the new group of guys who will be taking over for me to update the masses about a few modifications to help with this transition period. The MN-New Generation (as they dubbed them selves) consists of NWT (who is already familiar with the inner workings of the thread), mateus, who will be taking over the posts, and chocolate (who will be taking over the numbers and tables. I will pass on my sig to these three members to sport proudly, and together they will keep the posts going.

I am sure they will all have something to add and ask of you to help them through the turbulent transition period, and I will let them post their new “temporary regulations” during the course of the day.

In the meanwhile I’ll enjoy my time in the proverbial white sand beaches of the brain, and as of this post I am proud to be an MN user, and not an Exec.

I would like to thank everybody in the team, who has made this experience truly joyous, and has given this obsessed and at times overly optimistic HABS fan a heaven to go to in dark times.

One last thing I can ask is that I hope the HABS give me a nice “parting” gift with a win against Brodeur and the gang tonight.

Thanks again all...you guys are the reason why this thread is what it is today.

HLD

PUCK POSSESSION BEGINS WITH FACE-OFFS:

It should be noted that the Canadians have been poor in the face-off circle since the beginning of the season. To be more precise we’re tied for 26th in the league with a 47.6% rate. First places sits at 54.2%. At first glance, this difference of less than ten 7% may seem negligible, however upon further deliberation it indicates a significant weakness on our team. Let’s assume for argument’s sake, that during the course of a game we have 50 face-offs. This would mean that the opposing team will have three or four more face-offs won during the course of the game. Just keep this number in mind for a second.

When our goal scoring trio, currently Kovalev’s line, steps on the ice and loses the face of, they will be spending the next 10 to 40 seconds chasing the puck around. More often than not, the opposing team will dump the puck behind Kovalev’s line to keep them in our zone and away from their goalie. Therefore, against a smart checking line, a lost face-off could lead to 40 seconds wasted away from the opposing goalie’s net. Given the high pace short shrift strategy our team possesses, a lost face-off could lead to a lost shift.

So getting back to the four face-offs lost per game, it basically translates into four loss to shifts for scoring line, which could be five or six scoring chances depending on the line. In a game, where matches are one and lost based on scoring chances, and where an average team will obtain ten to fifteen scoring chances per game, all of a sudden we’re talking about poor face-off performance cutting your scoring chances by 25% to 50%.

Of course all these numbers are assumptions, and during any given game they could be higher or lower, but the point remains that lost face offs equals loss to shifts, lost chances, and lost momentum. When Carbonneau joined the team last year, I recall one of the first things he did with the center’s was to do face of drills, and this might be a good time to get back to the basics, and run drills with our centers to ensure we control the puck. Puck possession is key, and it all begins with the face-off.

HABS WIN, LEAFS LOOSE, LIFE IS GREAT!

Well the refs managed to give the Maple turds a point with yet another goal which should not have counted against us, but the end result helps ease the pain of a busted spleen resulting from over-rage.

Is it just me or does Carey Price seems to excel and almost enjoy shoot-outs. Maybe after going over a dozen rounds in the shoot-out against the US at the Junior Worlds has conditioned Priceberg to excel even more in such a pressure packed situation.

It was a good call by the coach to promote Guillaume to the first line. They lit up the red light, had various close chances, points and drew penalties. Hopefully they keep gelling

And finally I have to mention Kovalev. When this guy gets angry, and gets into a fight for the puck along the board, doesn't he remind you of the second coming of Werewolf? He's like a beast, and when he does get the puck along the boards, the opposition is more likely to get hit by a meteor than they are to strip the puck away. I almost look forward to him getting cross-checked or hit in the face with a glove/stick. When I see that I know it's time for the Kovalev show, and last night was no different. What ever he did during the summer to "change his mental attitude" is paying dividends, and I his play only gets better from here.

THE BLIND LEADING THE DEAF

I did not have the pleasure of watching Guy Lafleur rip in to the HABS roster, but knowing the media in Montreal there is a high likelihood of misinterpretation and paraphrasing. With daily blog posts for three years running, I would consider my self an amateur member of the media, and I would feel left out if I didn't join my epsilonic brethren from Le Journal in paraphrasing Lafleur's comments in my own way.

The sentiment expressed was that he the HABS hae four fourth lines...and I will agree with him in my application of Le Journal's mantra: "I reject your reality and substitute my own".

I agree with this comment because what he's trying to say is that this is a well balanced team with no one line having more importance than the next. They are all equal pieces of the puzzle, cogs in a mega-machine. So Lafleur was complimenting the balanced and tightly nit team that Bob put together for Carbo to work with, and thus was complimenting Carbo on using them all equally, even when plating catch up hockey in the third.

HAH! False realities...how do you like them apples Le Tabloid de Montreal?!

In a more serious front, we have a tough challenge ahead of us, not because the Leafs have had our number this year, not because the opposing team has lost three in a row and will be even more motivated than usual, but because we are in a slump. One could paint it any color they wish, but the fact of the matter is that this team is in a slump and we have got to cut the bleeding asap by stringing together a few wins. The next few game are key and they all start with tonight's game.

At this point somebody has to step up and be a leader. The trouble with a well balanced team built on the basis of the proven adage: "a team is as strong as it's weakest ling" is that the players designated as leaders might loose their identity and blend in with the followers. With everybody following, no one is leading and although the team is working collectively, they will be collectively going around in circles. During the first dozen or so games, Kovalev did a great job of leading the locker room through his intensity on the ice, and encouragement/mentorship on the bench and in the locker room. Today the team is missing this character in the locker room and it's time Koivu, Kovalev, Komisarek, even Higgins, Ryder, or Chipchura to grab the bull by the horns and ride it like there's no tomorrow. Because the sad truth is that no matter how great the team works together, if they are not lead to work in the same direction, there will be no post season glory, or at worse even a post season.

LET THE DISMANTLING BEGIN!

OK so I haven’t been on the forum since Saturday morning, and I made a point of writing this update prior to checking out the fan reaction in various threads. I would assume by this point that half the team should be traded, Ryder burnt at the stake, Carbonneau fired and replaced by Youppi, Gainey fired and replaced by the beer vendor, etc, etc…

I will be the first to admit that this team has been on the bubble/ fence between stardom and mediocrity, and as of late every indication shows that we are sliding towards the wrong side of the line. However, everyone needs to get a grip and realise that we’re not there yet. We’re only just over a quarter of the way in to the season, we’re still in good shape in points standings. We should also note that every team (including the “mighty” Senators) go through their rough patches. This is a test for the team, a test we failed miserably last year, and it gives many of the players an opportunity to have a second crack at the cookie. Also its advantageous to go through the rough patches earlier rather than later in the season, because if and when we fix the glitches, we’ll be flying into the post-season with momentum.

All that to say that we are going through a rough patch, but all it takes is a few games winning streak and a 0.7, 0.8 winning rate over a dozen games or so, and we’re back on cloud nine. Things change quickly in the new NHL, and the standings, as many must have noticed, change rather dramatically every weekend. It’s not the first, nor will it be the last time the HABS teeter-tot through the ranks, but if the general public wants to enter mass hysteria and send the ¾ of the roster to the firing range each time we drop a few, than there is a high likelihood of the team demoralising throughout the long season.

This is where we will see how much maturity the players and the coaching staff has gained through last year’s debacles. And it all starts with a solid test against another team in a dire situation, who incidentally has our number: The Leafs.

STILL BUILDING MOMENTUM

OK so we lost and there were a few bogus calls (offside on their second goal, a questionable call against Komi, no call at the end of the game on Afinogenof which led to the 4th goal, etc…). However we didn’t need to be in that situation to begin with, and tonight will remind the pesky bananas that we’re at a higher level than them.

The reason why they got the lead was simple: Horrible coaching decisions. Dandenault said it right out during the pre-game interview. When he was asked about how well they played when they pressured the Isles Defensemen, chased and work the puck behind the net, and got their own Defensemen involved in the attack, and questioned on what the team strategy was for tonight, his response made me cringe in my seat: “Well, it was a fun game in NY, but the coaches talked with us and showed some tape, and we’ll have to do the exact opposite of what we did in NY. We have to fall back and try to shut them down” I immediately knew I had a loosing bet on that game.

The saving grace in this story however is that after a period of letting the Sabres perform Baryshnikov’s interpretation of the Nut-Cracker in our zone, the coaches decided to open up the play, and IMPOSE OUR OWN GAME. End result, we tied the game, and we would have won it had it not been for the McGooesque call on Komi. (Note that our PK was atrocious last night, and should have came up big during that PK…too many weaknesses)

So end result, I hope and believe that this was a learning lesson to Carbo and the stooges, because if we ever, ever, EVER enter a game with this fall back strategy which is yet to win us a comfortable and deserved game, I will have to pull a Frank-The-Tank and run through the snow naked to cool off.

I would expect us to come out and impose our game from the start, this game and the next, and the next, and the next, etc…However the most important thing is to just play our game and come out with the win tonight, because we don’t want to drop two in a row. That’s when ugly things begin to happen.

BUBBLES THE UNDERCOVER MEXICAN

If one uses Google translate to Englishify an article from RDS.com, Bouillon’s name is magically transferred to Bubbles. They must have used a similar process to change Bubbles in to a Mexican on the ice yesterday. I knew there was something fishy about him all along! Something about the way he wore his sombrero, but I can't quite put my finger on it. If you ask me Bubbles is a home boy, and he's as French-Canadian as the Enchiladas he chases with the super-sized Churros. But beware all...heed my word. The office de la langue Français won't let this one slide so easily. After giving the team a series of "Dictés", they'll challenge why Bubble's coach and team-mates decided to denationalise one of the few Quebec born players on a team where local boys are already a rare and endangered species. Funny right? You think I'm kidding? Just wait for the headlines in a few days. After having witnessed the honourable Office de la langue Français pursue and shut down a pet store in the West Island, because the parrot out front knew only English words, anything is possible.

The team's recent schedule including the North American team vs. the Internationals team (which included the poor brainwashed and infidel Bubbles) scrimmage, the team thanks giving dinner, and other team building activities are proof once more that the camaraderie in the locker room is strong and continues to improve. This theme of team spirit I keep coming back to is the key to our success. A well balanced team needs everyone to do their job, work together, and look out for the other guys on the ice, and having team spirit gives the players the right mental attitude to help accomplish this straight forward, but difficult task.

Given the team's current state, I expect nothing less than 4/4 points in the next 24ish hours. I just hope Bubbles can deal with his current identity crisis. Otherwise we'll all be asking for refunds on #51 Jerseys, or changing their names to Sanches.