Monday thoughts

Nothing is worse than a dark, rainy Monday made worse by a couple of lackluster efforts on ice by our Habs. Where has the October team gone? The team that flew around the ice with reckless abandon. The team that defended smartly. And though they couldn't score a powerplay goal, they had some chances, and were just missing a little something that with a bit more time allowed to gel could have started working. The 5-on-5 was pretty hot with Pleky's line and the occasional pitch by Halpern's.

November. Do I need to quote Guns'n'Roses?

'Cause nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain

Other than goaltending and the PhD line, everything seems to have turned upside down. To help fix Giomez, Martin breaks up the stellar top line of AK46-Pleky-Cammy completely disregarding how much those three are attached. The ever misplaced rotating winger to go with Giomez failed, and while Moen has no business up there and it worked in the playoffs when the team needed to kick some Capital ass (plus the two goals scored), we've now sacrificed an important piece of the team in order to fix another. However the wrong WINGER was used. AK46 and Plekanec are like peanute butter and nutella: so smooth, so delicious. When the Habs revamped their team, there was a short term case of success between Giomez and Cammy, and they only found the chemistry between him and Plekanec when injuries separated him from his new buddies. Now Andrei is out there spending more time trying to get the puck where Plekanec would be dishing it for him, or hitting, and it's affected his scoring since Gomez isn't digging in the way Plekanec was. True lately he's gotten better, but now Andrei is spending more time trying to find his tendencies and finds himself out of position for Gomez. New winger to the line? Lapierre, who claims he'll crash and bang the way he set up Dominic Moore for many key goals but I'll see it when I believe PlayoffLapierre has returned...

Habs didn't trade for Lars Eller to be a winger. Either be consistent and keep him in his position, or do the kid a favor and send him to Hamilton so he can BE that large center we want him to be. Frankly, if Engqvist doesn't turn into our own Jordan Staal, develop a bit of defensive two-way ability on Lars and he could be that guy (work on his faceoffs is a plus).

Lately the fourth line has been absolutely useless, and now Dustin Boyd is on waivers to see if anyone can find him useful. Your fourth line needs a role. It brings grit, energy, and should be defensively responsible while forechecking hard. Ryan White is a guy that can do this. His energy is infectious and would boost the team. He's also capable of penalty kill. Combine him with Moen and Pyatt. Make a plan!

My problem is, learn who your players are, don't handcuff them, let them play, and make a plan that works for the better of your team. NO ONE WILL HATE YOU IF YOU SHOW YOU MEAN BUSINESS!

So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain

The defence gives me a headache. Hamr's a slow stiff pylon. Gill is struggling and blocking Price's view more than shots. Spacek picked himself up a little bit, then gave the puck away and couldn't get it out of the zone for 5 minutes. PK's busy babysitting a flatfooted veteran rather than flying and saving Picard's rear (as much as Picard has problems, he didn't hinder PK too much). The old guys need to suck it up and take a break so O'Byrne can DO HIS JOB which is being physical and clearing the crease because frankly how is this guy supposed to become the player we want him to be if he's always out of practice?! Markov's...not back yet.

So what do you do? For one, stop rolling the old guys so much. Sit your guys down and re-evaluate your pairings. Markov and Komisarek were a good pair, so was Markov and Mara, and Markov with O'Byrne. Even the few times he played with Hal Gill were good because no one really notices Gill's ability to knock the puck forward. Hell Markov with Spacek worked when it was used last season for a bit. Hamr and O'Byrne were also an excellent pair, for the days Spacek needs a nap. Hamr with PK is also OK, but PK was better with Picard shockingly enough. I guess it was their youthfulness. Gorges can go with anyone, honestly.

When people were thinking up their early team questions my top question was managing the defence because of their age and slowness. Right now I'm terrified every time an opposing forward crosses the blue line and our old guys are looking gassed already. Pretty soon, Price will get zero support and will find himself completely overwhelmed, and the idiots will come out of the woodwork with their stats and their "oh ho ho you traded the wrong goalie" shit.

It's real tough to watch. Are you getting sick of seeing Price out there alone? I sure am. But are our coaches really doing what's best for this team? Of course, the boys could wake up suddenly and play their hearts out against the Canucks (who were on a terrible slide during a long road trip the last time they visited the Bell Center but aren't on such a slide this time), the Bruins (who trap), the Hurricanes (who are unpredictable), the Flyers twice (who are a pain in the ass), the Predators (Western trap 101), the Leafs (who may need to break a loosing streak by then), the Kings (who are hot), the Thrashers (who are confusing), and the Sabres NOT at home.

So if you want to love me
Then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin'
In the cold November rain

Blah blah blah: Flyer 2, Habs1

Awww... Ain't they cute?

The drama queens on the forums or I/O postings really are just that. Seriously, it wasn't that bad. Could have been better, but wasn't worse. Needed work on executions, and decision making is on the wrong side of a brain fart for the most part but the effort was there, the polish wasn't. However defense wasn't too bad tonight... Not great, but not terrible either. My brother agrees about cloning Hammer though. Halak regained control of his rebounds, only to let a few fly at bad moments but thankfully they didn't end up as goals this time. Still, faced as many as Price does regularily, and they weren't exactly of super quality. The ones that went in deserved it.

I think if the Flyers had come out full steam guns ablaze like Boston did on Thursday, well it would have been 6-1 Flyers. It's only November, so calling for Carbo's head or Gainey's head (wtf?) is super premature. I saw good things, and bad things, I still think some Bulldogs could bring in some life. Pleky's line needs to work on their setup and positioning. The powerplay could use someone with accuracy, and though Streit was honestly a better forward than defenseman, his powerplay specialty was built on accuracy and good thinking. Right now, I think Markov doesn't think well enough to handle it and the shots heading to the goal are just "shoot maybe it'll bounce in" types rather than actually vying for a goal. Perhaps we'll see Weber soon, as he's following his hero's lead as a powerplay specialist. Perhaps even D'Agostini could bring in some offensive punch. I'm still dreaming (or drooling) over the possibility of a Chips/Lapierre/Kostopoulos line, or Chips on the 3rd and Desharnais centering the 4th with TK and Lapierre as his wingers. The possiblities are there. Like last year, I think Bob waited for December/January to do some shuffling.

Sucks the presentation of our medal wining provincial athletes couldn't inspire a harder drive for a win. I mean, the whole arena from the benches to the rafters was at full volume as Chantal Petitclerc came out. She could probably beat both teams with only ONE of her hands. Anyhoo, with that, tomorrow's another day. To the Blues~!

If you were flipping channels...
- Vancouver 4, Toronto 2. What no shutout? Tsk! The first goal scored was by Wellwood. Haha~!
- Backup of the backup Clemmenson gets the Caps in a shootout. Devils win 6-5. Parise is the only one to bank it during the skills contest.
- Another shootout, Rangers 3 and Boston 2 with Drury as the only one to get it in past Thomas. Ryder's only call on the sheet? A 3rd period tripping penalty. Told ya last year wasn't all that suspicious...
- Buffaslugs lose 5-4 to the Penguinos. And no you can't blame it on Lalime this time 'cause Miller was in nets. Shots were equal around 24 a piece as well.
- Oh my... Sens pepper Joey Mac with 40 shots and still lose to the Islanders 3-2. Hey Sputza got a goal though. Looks like they tried a Third Period Bonanza, only to come out short.
- Currently 2-1 Dallas against Phoenix...
- THE BULLDOGS get a win though with 2 goals by D'Agostini, 3 assists by Lehoux, and a goal a piece for Chips and Maxwell. Patches, Aubin, and Wyman get an assist as well for a 4-3 win over the Rochester Americans. Shots were 31-17 Hamilton!

Also congratulations are in order for the Alouettes. That was a great comeback (of sorts) after 3 weeks of not playing. Larry Taylor made two awesome runs that left a bunch of Eskimos throwing their hands in the air with a "wtf" expression. The Als are going to the Grey Cup! First time they've gone when Montreal hosted it since 1979...