The Bob and...oh fuck it: Habs 4, Sens 5

If the players out there look like they don't care anymore then I don't care anymore. Actually I never really took it seriously enough to really care too much about it, since in the end it's just a game that I watch. But it bothers me to see them play like this. What other team takes 30 minutes to warm up and leaves their end so defenseless or poorly defended that it's 3-1 by the end of the first period? They go around with no speed or urgency, they allow players to walk right in through the backdoor (might not want to allow Spezza or Heatley or Alfie that much space but I could swear you knew that already), they don't challenge anyone in the defensive zone, they're inconsistent, and they've been playing up and down like this since that crazy Captials game at the Bell Center (with the exception of the Pens game at the Bell Center, which was the last game I saw them play as a team). One goalie, one defenseman, and one trio DO NOT MAKE A TEAM PEOPLEZ. And god forbid if Price or Halak have a fuzzy night, 'cause apparently it's all over if they do. (Regardless of who has the flu now). What happened to the team that would win games when Halak let in 3/4/5 in his second takeover from an injured Price? I dunno if they noticed either but they're on the verge of toppling headfirst to like 10th place or something. Clouston says the Sens are a playoff team. I'm not sure if mathematically they can make it unless teams like our Habs keep playing like brainless zombies. Actually, zombies appear to have more urgency. They seem to be viciously and seriously attacking my brother right now in Resident Evil 5. But I digress. Oh and Benoit Brunet, when you know something about goaltending or defense or teams playing in cohesion, then you may open your mouth. Until then, please shut the fuck up.

Bob may want to stop cancelling the morning skate. These droogs apparently need it.

Also, anyone else noticed how depressed Price sounds in the press? For over a week now?

Carbo's press conference: First I'd like to say that François Gagnon, Jacques Demers, and a few others are taking the wrong approach in this matter in that they're delving way to personally on the issue. Though Gagnon seems content with trying to dig out the weed in the room and would love to pin the tail on the Kovy or Koivu. But you guys are doing the same thing as what happened with Ribero (an overrated player who was protected by the media and only realized the shit he was in when he didn't have that protection in Dallas). Next, I'm sorry Carbo but as one of your loyal supporters I have to tell it like it is. If he cannot understand why he was fired, then he cannot look past his nose. I gave him the benefit of the doubt that the players were just making wrong decisions and the coaches would fix these problems. But then the errors continued. The SAME errors every time. And it accumulated until Gainey himself saw his team running around absolutely lost and a coach unable to explain why. Of course we know Gainey took care of one issue (Kovy with a mysterious illness that's been bothering him and an inspirational chat), which brought me to the conclusion that Gainey was giving Carbo the chance to fix the others. That never happened. Finally Gainey terminated his venture and took over the team to try and fix these errors (however I feel it's far too late as their habits are so ingrained they're almost natural, except I noticed they don't ice the puck as much anymore). Where "ugly" victories were brushed off as victories and their problems ignored again, more bad habits formed from those. How many times did we see games lost because the bounces didn't go our way? Apparently the system was based on pure chance. This is where you failed and lost your job, Carbo. We saw inklings of this in the playoffs last season, but just brushed it aside as a young team with frazzled veterans. But the same problems of inactivity were still occuring. As a coach, simply changing the lines aren't a solution to a system problem. As a coach, it is the coaches responsibility to cover this. Lack of communication is a key to this problem. However, communicating with your players is not the same as communicating with the media. I know the door was opened but if the players themselves just think they won despite the errors then it's ok, this does not help things and they won't go seeking the coach on the issues. A good coach would be proactive in communication with his players to address the issues. And I don't know about these team meetings we constantly hear from because they seemed to have worked only once... Bowling and bag skating don't fix problems that players don't understand themselves, and as a coach and ex-player, that is a job like a mentor. It's not about "losing the room" or dealing with the different personalities, it's about the play. And in the end, I've come to the conclusion that I don't think he was a good coach. It's unfortunate, but I think Carbo should go and maybe coach the Q team he owns like Patrick Roy and gain experience through the ranks.

(On a side note) Roy, at least, despite being a goalie all his life, went out and learned every aspect of this game from defense to powerplays to get his team competitive. Carbo, however, relies solely on players who show the same heart he had as a player. While heart is important, the rest is missing. His only good trait though was being a shrewed tactician.

In other news:
I spent over an hour stuck in a dark Metro car as the power was out on the Orange Line while some lady was singing like a dead cat in a part of the station. I do believe that might have been the train to hell.

Oh and the Quebec budget is shit, the PQ is probably going to take power next time because lord knows they can do worse so of course the people will vote for them, couple that with maybe Ignatieff getting the job in Ottawa...and I'd like to move to another planet, please. Unless William Shatner really does run for Prime Minister.