Seesaw

The Habs continue to play up and down hockey. Last night they looked as good as they have looked in over a month. They took care of the streaking Ottawa Senators 3-1, sure it took a Drydenesque effort from the much maligned Abby, but the Habs skated hard and won the game fair and square. Flash back to Saturday night, were the Habs were outclassed, by a Leaf team that is even more inconsistent then the Habs, and you can see why most Habs fans are a little worried about the Habs version 06-07.



Does it take bitching to the media by Souray and the coaching staff to get this team's emotion up....has the locker room which Souray not long ago described as as tight as he has ever seen it, started to come off the rails?? Is this just a normal mid season malaise??? Or are we seeing the true Habs, worts and all???? I tend to think that this team is middle of the road, and if they don't out skate, and out work each and every team they face...well they will be embarrassed, like they were against the Leafs. So what can the coaching staff, and management do?? Does Carbo have to call them out every time they get in a funk?? Please, these are grown men, and professionals, they should be above all that. Does Bob Gainey have to plug his nose, and make a deal, sacrificing the future for the short term?? I am well aware of the Forsberg rumours, and I am not a supporter of the idea. Sure a quality center would do the Habs a world of good, but there are umpteen other teams looking for the same piece of the puzzle....the asking price will be too high, and the reward is a question mark.

I haven't the answers, I believe Gainey will be active on the trade front, the question is will he be a buyer or a seller?? And the answer to that question will depend on which end the seesaw is tilted come mid February.

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Okay Okay Drop The Puck Already

Now that the smoozefest that is the AllStar break is over, can we please get back to some real hockey. Sure watching the league's best smile, and hug and get along for a few days might be good for the soul, it might put the whole hockey is only a sport thing all into perspective..but damn it, I am jonesing for some blood, guts, and competition.


My Habs haven't played a game for a week..retarded how long the AllStar break is for some teams..heck they could have had half a world championship for something with all that time off...anyway yawn, I am bored, time for the real stuff, time for some wacky trade rumours, time for les boys to separate themselves from les petites, it's crunch time. GO HABS GO!!!!

Squeaked One Out....

Blood pressure high, finger nails all but chewed off, hair being pulled out, when the final horn sounded after 60 minutes of last night's Hab's 4-3 win over the Sabres all I could say was PHHEEWW. The Habs came out flying in the first period, opening up a 2-0 lead. Early in the second, the Habs were up 3-0, it seemed that the Sabres were tired, the Habs seemed to have them right where they wanted them....and then the penalties began, a series of 4 on 4s, got the Sabres skating again, the Eastern Conference's best team had awoken from its slumber. The Sabres tied the game early in the third...thats is when the chewing of the nails started, and my loathing of Danny Briere intensified....Mike Ryder scored the Habs 4th goal, and the eventual game winner mid way through the period, but man oh man, it was a nerve racking last 10 minutes or so. Can't complain about the 2 points I suppose, but geezus, these Habs are the cardiac kids, they sure don't leave the fan feeling that they are going to come away with a win.....inhale, exhale...phew.

The Bleeding Stops....For Now



Habs win, Habs win. Les Boys took care of the Thrashers last night, ending a 2 game goalless streak, and more importantly picked up a couple of much needed points. Funny what happens when a teams 2 all stars, actually play like all stars. Huet kicked out 44 pucks, his best performance since being named an all star, and Souray picked up a goal and a helper. Rivet and Sammy, who 2 games ago were healthy scratches, both played solid games....if only the first line could find some of that early season magic, the Habbies just might start to roll again.



All this said the Habs are going to have to play much better on Saturday night if they want to beat the Sabres....if they give up 45 shots against the Sabres, it could get very ugly..holy inflated score sheet Batman.



p.s.... I am using a new blog add on offered on Firefox, if the fonts are a little wonky, that is why...cheers.

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Brand New Lows....

A whooping 0 goals in their last two games, only 4 wins in their last 13 games, an assistant captain who was benched, then left the rink in a huff, a hot shot free agent signing who has also been benched, an all star goalie who is playing like an AHL back-up and an all star dman who is more fit to play in the beer leagues.......things have gone from bad to worse in Montreal, and I am unsure if there is any relief in sight.


All the bad habits that I have been bitching about all year have finally come and bite les boys in their collective asses....luck and strong special teams work can only get a team so far...sooner or later the luck is going to run out, and the special teams will go in a funk, and then what??? Well then the mid season slide begins... the question is, how are Gainey, and his buddies on the coaching staff going to end this slide? Does Gainey trade a couple unproductive veterans, namely Rivet, and Sammy, or does he move some prospects, mortgaging the future, in the hopes of short term gain??? Does he try and solve things within the organization, waiving players, moving players up and down to the farm?? What can the coaching staff do....practice, practice, practice..drills on going to the net, breaking out of their own zone, general 5 on 5 play?? I am not sure, all I do know is that the Eastern conference is tight, and if this slide continues all that much longer, the Habs will be on the outside looking in at a playoff spot.

It's Getting Ugly

It is one thing to play ugly and win, say when the opponents are the dreadful Flyers, but a team can't play ugly against the surging Ottawa Senators. This afternoon the Habs played ugly, the result, an embarrassing 8-3 walloping, on national television no less....ugh.


I turned this one off after the first period, the Habs were down 4-0, and you had the feeling that things were not going to get any better in the periods to come. Les Boys were a no show, the were being forechecked to death, they were being beat to every loose puck, they were outclassed all over the ice. So was this just one of those games, a temporary blip, or have the real Habs emerged, you know the team that was supposed to finish, say 10th in the Eastern Conference. Again I think the Habs are good enough to make the playoffs, I do not however envision them finishing in the 4th spot....this is a team that is going to have to look over their shoulder for the rest of the season, and I suspect they are going to have to fight tooth and nail until the last couple of weeks in the season to secure a playoff spot.


Finally, congrats to Huet and Souray for making the Eastern Conference all star team. Huet deserves the honor, and well one can't argue with Souray's numbers. To bad that Saku didn't receive any all star love, he has been stellar this year...and personally I would much rather see Markov represent the Habs defence, he is the true cog at the blue line. Oh ya can anybody explain to me how Justin "I will poke your eye out" Williams gets an all star nod, geez Brind Amour is the guy in Carolina, not that putz. Rant over....go Habs go, sigh.

Brodeur Adds To Habs Woes

Make it 6 losses in 8 games. The Habs are free falling, stomach flu aside, the all too common Hab mid season slide has begun. Many thought, with the way the Habs had played in December, and hell throughout most of the early part of the season that they might avoid the slump this year. However, here it is in all it's mediocre glory. There really is no need to panic, the Ducks are going through a similar slide, and I don't think anyone is too worried about them...the lose of one Chris Pronger is a kick in the arse for sure.


Why the free fall, are the Habs playing any worse then they have been all season long? I don't believe so, I believe that this team has been playing on the edge all season long, they have been winning games despite themselves. There are some glaring deficiencies in this team's game, namely the lack of puck moving defense men (sauf Markov, of course), lack of scoring 5 on 5 (not enough finishers on this team), the lack of a second line center, and maybe most importantly, piss poor team discipline (no way a team that is as soft as the Habs should draw so many penalties). The Habs as a unit have in my opinion played above their heads all year long, the other shoe has dropped...I believe this slump was inevitable. Do I believe it will continue, nah, this team has enough talent to play above .500 for the rest of the year, and they will make the playoffs easily. They are not, like some would have you believe an elite team yet, there are some pieces still missing...thats what Bob Gainey is there for.

Flu Bug To Blame For Slump??

The Habs have dropped 4 of their last 5 games....is this an all too typical mid-season free fall, or can this slump be attributed to the nasty flu bug that has been floating around the Habs locker room? I believe it is probably the combination of the 2, these are the dog days of the NHL schedule, the part of the year where the men are separated from the boys. If a team isn't completely banged up (and the Habs are surprisingly healthy at this point), many have hit the wall, and are in prolonged slumps, were bad habits, and hoo hum laissez faire play abounds.

If Les Boys are still struggling when this flu bug subsides, I believe it may be time for the Bob, and Carbo to shake things up. Whether it be through trade, or call up, management has to let the players know that they are expected to fight through the tough days ahead, and complacency is not an option. That is how I see things going down in the next few weeks at least.

Too Much Turkey and Stuffing???

Oh poor neglected blog of mine....it has been difficult to find the head space, or personal space to write about my Habs lately, funny their play of late has done little to inspire a person to write anyway. They have lost 3 of 4, they seem to be mired in a post Xmas slump, the work effort has been there but the bounces aren't going their way.

Good to see Bob Gainey has come back to work, now lets hope he can get something done in order to propel this team into the playoffs and beyond. The trade market seems to be opening up, could a January surprise be about to happen??? Time for a shake up, Les Boys have become complacent, stir the pot Bob....onward and upward.