Tuesday 22 April 2014

FEATURE GAME - Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Ligthning

Montreal Canadiens (4) vs Tampa Bay Lightning (3)


The Montreal Canadiens became the first team to progress to the second round of the 2013/14 Stanley Cup Playoffs after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 at home in the Bell Centre on Tuesday night. The Canadiens swept the Lightning, exacting revenge for the last time these two teams met in the playoffs back in 2003/04, when the Lightning swept the Canadiens. This series marks Montreal's first series win since 2010 when they were knocked out in the Conference Finals by the Philadelphia Flyers. The last time Montreal swept a team since was back in 1993, sweeping the Buffalo Sabres 4-0 in the Adams Division Finals en route to their most recent Stanley Cup. Montreal will face the winner of the Boston Bruins - Detroit Red Wings series next week in the second round.

Montreal didn't take long to open the scoring in Game 4, Dale Weise finding Daniel Briere all alone in front of the net early in the period. Briere calmly wristed the puck over Anders Lindback's glove and into the top right corner to put Montreal up 1-0 after just 2:23. Briere's first goal of the current playoffs brings his all-time points total to 111 points in 112 playoff games.

Brian Gionta celebrates with Lars Eller
The habs lit the lamp again in the opening period at 15:21, a turnover created by veteran captain Brian Gionta at the red line allowed Lars Eller to charge into the zone and rip a slap shot between Lindback's pad and glove to put the Canadiens up 2-0, the only Lightning defenseman back electing to block the passing lane to Rene Bourque on the two-on-one. The Canadiens outshot the Ligthning 15-6 in the opening frame.

Frustration got to the Lightning early in period two, after taking a 2 minute penalty for tripping on Alexei Emelin, Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos proceeded to punch Emelin in the face after the whistle but was not assessed a further penalty. Montreal failed to capitalise on the powerplay and Tampa got a lucky break with time winding down on the penalty as a miscommunication between Emelin and Carey Price caused a loose puck that Ondrej Palat picked up and wrapped around the net. Price just about made the save but in the ensuing scramble Montreal defenseman Josh Gorges pushed him and the puck over the line at 4:32 and after review the referees declared a good goal, Tampa's first short-handed goal of the series.

Gallagher scores his 3rd playoff goal
Tampa's hopes of a quick comeback didn't last long as Brendan Gallagher scored his 3rd goal of the post-season just a minute and ten seconds later, prompting Tampa coach Jon Cooper to pull Lindback in favour of Latvian Olympian Kristers Gudlevskis, who made some crucial saves to keep the score at 3-1 going into the second intermission. Many Olympic hockey fans will remember Gudlevskis's stellar performance in the Olympic quarter finals against Canada, where he saved 55 of 57 shots against in a 2-1 loss to the Gold medallists.


Gudlevskis continued to make crucial saves to start the third and the Lightning cut the lead to one at 03:29 as Victor Hedman banked a pucked off Price's back from behind the net, narrowly squeezing the puck over the line. Montreal took their feet off the pedal and the momentum swung Tampa's way, they were rewarded 3 minutes later as Tyler Johnson erased the deficit with the tying goal.

Montreal picked up their play shortly after losing the lead and it looked like they may get the go-ahead goal just before the 10 minute mark with Brendan Gallagher getting a breakaway. But Gudlevkis remained patient and Gallagher couldn't get a proper shot off, his backhand easily dealt with by Gudlevskis.

The next 10 minutes was end to end, both teams getting chances to take the lead until just over two minutes from time, when after battling with Michael Bournival in the corner, Cedric Paquette took a minor penalty for hooking Bournival. Montreal finally got it's powerplay going and Max Pacioretty scored his first ever playoff goal, jamming the puck under Gudlevskis to win the game for Montreal in the closing moments.

Montreal has now won 15 of its past 19 games, with a 2.32 GAA and 3 shutouts. The habs are getting scoring from all four lines, solid goaltending from Carey Price and are looking very tidy through the neutral zone. Whilst there are still some questions over their powerplay which appears to have some issues trying to make the perfect play, it looks as if the red-hot Canadiens are playing like a team that could go all the way.

- images courtesy of Getty Images & NHL.com

See also:
Montreal Canadiens power outage
Montreal vs Tampa series has it all
Controversy at the Bell Centre
Rene Bourque scores in 11 seconds
BACK STOP - Goaltender woes
Montreal Canadiens finish season strong


Torey Krug - best rookie defenseman of 2013/14?

Torey Krug

 

Record Breaker


In the Conference semi-finals of 2012/13 playoffs an injury hampered Boston Bruins were forced to call up rookie defenseman Torey Krug to play against the New York Rangers. Despite being undrafted and never having played an NHL game prior to that series he did not fail to disappoint. Krug scored the game-tying goal in the third period of his debut game, the first Bruin to do so since Glen Wesley in 1988. The Bruins went on to win 3-2 in overtime.

The young defenseman didn't stop there, he went on score 3 more times in his next 4 games and became the first ever rookie defenseman to score 4 goals in his first 5 playoff games. The Boston Bruins went on the Stanley Cup finals where they were eventually defeated 4-2 by the Chicago Blackhawks.

On Saturday March 15th 2014 Krug scored his 14th goal of the regular season and surpassed Bobby Orr for most goals by a Bruins rookie defenseman.

 

 2013/14


Krug's first regular season was certainly a successful won. The Bruins won the presidents trophy and secured the top playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. The 23 year old defenseman played in 79 games registering 14 goal and 26 assists with a plus 18 rating. His 40 points were head and shoulders above the next nearest rookie defenseman in scoring, Anaheim's Hampus Lindholm, who had 30 points. With 2 assists already in the 2013/14 playoffs it looks like Torey Krug will be a name we are certain to hear more of in the future.

VALUE FOR MONEY - David Clarkson

David Clarkson

After starting the 2012/13 campaign with 15 points in 12 games for the New Jersey Devils David Clarkson began a slump which has lasted ever since. The 30 year right winger from Toronto scored only 9 points in his last 36 games did not re-sign with the Devils in the off-season. On July 5th 2013 Clarkson signed a 7 year contract with his hometown team the Toronto Maple Leafs.

David Clarkson against Marc Methot
Clarkson's first season with leafs was by far his worst to date. In 60 games played he registered just 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points (0.18 per game) whist putting up 93 penalty minutes. With an annual salary of $5,250,000 this equates to $477,273 per point. He was also one of the only players in 2013/14 campaign to have served more suspensions games than he scored points. Clarkson was suspended 2 games on December 14th 2013 for an illegal check to the head on Vladimir Sobokta (St. Louis Blues) and 10 games for an illegal line change to get into an altercation during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres on September 22nd.

Prior to the move the forward had some success with the New Jersey Devils, suiting up for 426 games over the course of the previous 7 seasons, netting 97 goals and 73 assists for 170 points, his 0.4 points per game of that span over double that of his current output.

Note: Boston Bruins tough-guy Shawn Thornton sat out 15 games suspended, receiving a match ban for hauling an unsuspecting Brooks Orpik to the floor causing serious injury in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 7th. He only registered 8 points on the year.

- images courtesy of Getty Images & NHL.com

See also:
VALUE FOR MONEY - Rene Bourque

Pittbsurgh Penguins leaving it late again...

Pittsburgh Penguins (2) vs Columbus Blue Jackets (7)


The Pittsburgh Penguins took the series lead on the road last night, coming back from a 3-1 deficit in the third period to defeat the inexperienced Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3. The Penguins heavily outshot the Blues Jackets in Game 3, over doubling their shot total 41-20. This is the second time in the series Pittsburgh has come back from a two goal third period deficit. Thus far every game has been decided by single goal, all by the same scoreline.

Jack Johnson scores in 3rd straight game
Boone Jenner scored his first goal of the post-season after just 1:38, snapping up a rebound from Jack Skille's shot that Marc-Andre Fleury couldn't contain. The lead was doubled less 2 minutes later when Jack Johnson scored for the third straight game from a similar situation, The puck was loose in front of Fleury but he couldn't get it covered. Coach Dan Bylsma elected not to replace Fleury despite giving up 2 goals on 3 shots to start the game.

The Columbus lead was reduced to one late in the second period, Brooks Orpik received a pass in the high slot from Beau Bennett, span, faked and waited as the Columbus defenseman slide in front of him before releasing a hard low shot, beating former Vezina winner Sergie Bobrovsky through the 5-hole with less than 2 seconds on the clock.

Pittsburgh rally for 3 goals on 3 shots
It didn't take Columbus long to get the two goal cushion back, just 1:04 into the third Cam Atkinson deflected a shot past Fleury to keep the Blue Jackets afloat. Unfortunately for Columbus Pittsburgh made their third period shots count, scoring on 3 consecutive shots to erase the deficit and put themselves up a goal with just under 12 minutes to go. Brandon Sutter, Lee Stempniak and Jussi Jokinen were the scorers.


Columbus now need to win their next home game before the series shift back to Pittsburgh to avoid losing the home advantage they stole in Game 2.

Monday 21 April 2014

Montreal Canadiens Power Outage

Question Mark over the Montreal Canadiens Powerplay

 

The Vanek Effect

Montreal Canadiens Powerplay

Since signing veteran forward Thomas Vanek at the trade deadline Montreal's powerplay efficiency has taken a massive dip. In 64 games prior to Vanek joining the habs Montreal had scored 41 powerplay goals on 213 attempts, an efficieny of 19.2%. Over the last 18 regular season and 3 playoff games Montreal has mainly been using Vanek in conjunction with top goal scorer Max Pacrioretty, David Desharnais, PK Subban and Markov as it's primary powerplay unit. In that time they have only scored 8 times on 77 attempts, an efficiency of 10.4% despite getting more opportunities per game by almost 1 (4.3 afterVanek trade compared with 3.3 before).


Daniel Briere


Daniel Briere enjoyed his most successful powerplay years with the Buffalo Sabres playing alongside Thomas Vanek. During their two seasons together with the Sabres he scored 58 powerplay points, an average of 0.45 per game. Since then he has scored 108 powerplay points in 7 seasons, at an average of 0.25 per game. Daniel Briere has had limited opportunities playing for the Canadiens in 2013/14 and has spent much of the time he has played on the 4th line. Could it be time for Therrien to stick him on the powerplay with Vanek?

 

Lets Suppose...


Suppose Therrien were to play Desharnais and Pacioretty with Gallagher on one powerplay line, withVanek and Briere together on the other with one of Borque, Plekanec, Gionta, Bournival or Galchenyuk (when he is fit), what would the effect be on Montreal's ailing powerplay efficiency?

- images courtesy of Getty Images & NHL.com

VALUE FOR MONEY? - Rene Bourque

Is Montreal Canadiens Forward Rene Bourque Value for Money?

 

Bio

Rene Bourque has not exactly had the most impressive numbers since joining the Canadiens early in 2012. The 32 year old right winger was traded from the Calgary Flames along with Patrick Holland and a 2nd round draft pick for Mike Cammalleri, Karri Ramo and a 5th round pick. On the 12th January 2012 he signed a 6 year contract worth $4m a year.

Rene Bourque shoots on Anders Lindback
In 128 regular season games with the habs Bourque has scored 21 goals and 16 assists for 37 points. In contrast in his previous 3 seasons with the Flames Bourque never scored less than 40 points in a single season. What Rene Bourque lacks in regular season success though he appears to making up for in the post-season, in only 8 games with the habs Bourque already has 5 goals and 1 assist including the game winner in Game 2 of the 2014 playoffs against Tampa Bay Ligthning. He scored 2 goals in that game and added another in Game 3 just 11 seconds into the 1st period., one of the fastest in history.

 

Under the cap

Bourque's current contract, which will see him through to 2016 is worth $4,000,000 per year, which equates to $3,333,333 towards the salary cap. Bourque scored 16 points in the 2013/14 regular season campaign, a whopping $250,000 per point. The following habs players all earned less than Bourque in the 2013/14 season:
  • Brendan Gallagher - $685,000 - 41pts - $16,707 per point
  • Alex Galychenyuk - $925,000 - 31pts - $29,839 per point
  • PK Subban - $2,875,000 - 53pts - $54,245 per point
  • Alexei Emelin - $2,000,000 - 17pts - $117,647 per point

 

 

Where are they now?

In 135 games since returning to Calgary Mike Cammalleri has scored 50 goals and 46 assists for 96 points, his current contract is worth $6m per year.

2013/14 marked Karri Ramo's first season in the NHL since 2006-2009 where he spent 3 seasons as back-up with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He posted 17 wins, a .911 save percentage and 2.65 GAA in 40 games as Calgary finished 13th in the Western Conference.

Calgary selected Ryan Culkin with Montreal's 5th pick of the 2012 entry draft. The 20 year old defenseman has played 5 seasons with the Quebec Remparts and Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QJMHL, registering 25 goals, 106 assists for 131 points in 232 games.

22 year old Patrick Holland played 5 games for Montreal in 2013/14, without registering any points. The right winger has played his past 2 seasons with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs, scoring 45 points in 126 games.

Montreal selected goaltender Zachary Fucale with Calgary's 3rd Round Pick in 2013. The 18 year old has played 3 seasons with the Halifax Mooseheads, in the most recent season he posted 36 wins, a .907 save percentage, 2.26 GAA and 6 shutouts in 50 games. He also back-stopped the Mooseheads to a Memorial Cup win in 2013.

- images courtesy of Getty Images & NHL.com

See also:
VALUE FOR MONEY? David Clarkson

Sunday 20 April 2014

Montreal vs Tampa series has it all...

Tampa Bay Lightning (3) vs Montreal Canadiens (4)

The 2014 first round series between the Lightning and Canadiens has not failed to disappoint; raw emotion, spectacular goals and controversy, this series has definitely given the fans something to shout about.

The Canadiens have put the Lightning into an almost insurmountable hole after winning a nail biting Game 3 at home in the Bell Centre 3-2 on Sunday night. Only 3 teams have ever come back from a 3-0 deficit, most recently the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010, and the way the Canadiens are playing it is unlikely that the Lightning will make it past the first round.

Rene Bourque scores opener in just 11 secs
Rene Bourque scored just 11 seconds into the 1st period off a chip pass from PK Subban, one of the fastest playoffs goals in history. Tampa levelled the score on the powerplay in the second period and had a controversial goal disallowed after Carey Price was deemed to have been impeded. After some nifty deking PK Subban set up Brendan Gallagher to score the go ahead goal late in the period. Tomas Plekanec extended the lead after 5:43 in the 3rd and the Canadiens clung on to win 3-2 in what for many Canadiens fans must have been a nail-biting experience.

With production from all 4 lines, a resurgent Rene Bourque and in-form PK Subban, is there anything the Lightning can do to resurrect their series?

- images courtesy of Getty Images & NHL.com








Controvesy at the Bell Centre

In a matter of minutes the Montreal Canadiens went from potentially being 2-1 down to being 2-1 up in Game 3 of their series with the Tampa Bay Lightning. After Ryan Callaghan scored in the second period the referees made the controversial decision that Carey Price was impeded and the goal was ruled out. After some nifty dekeing PK Subban set up Brendan Gallagher for the go ahead goal at 18:10 of the second period to give the Canadiens the go ahead goal.

Rene Bourque scores in 11 seconds

Rene Bourque scored one of the fastest goals in playoff history in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup playoffs against Tampa Bay Lightning. After just 11 seconds Rene Bourque raced into the Tampa zone picking up a bouncing puck chipped forward from defenseman PK Subban and ripping a wrist past Anders Lindback on the short side. Rene Bourque has now scored 3 goals in his last 3 games.

BACK STOP - Goaltender Woes

Tampa Bay Lightning

Lindback
With starter Ben Bishop injured and unlikely to return in the first round the weight has fallen on the shoulders of Anders Lindback to back-stop the Tampa Bay Lightning in their 2014 first round series with the Montreal Canadiens. With only four seasons of NHL experience, all spent as a back-up with the Nashville Predators and Lightning and only 1 previous NHL playoff game back in 2011 the inexperience showed in games 1 and 2 as the Montreal Canadiens won both on the road to take a 2-0 series lead back to the Bell Centre. 

Lindback's net was peppered with 44 shots in Game 1 as Montreal spent considerable time in the Tampa zone, and whilst making a number of good saves he could not stop Dale Weise from scoring the overtime winner in the closing minutes of the overtime period. Only the unusually suspect play of Carey Price let the game get that far, conceding 4 goals on his opening 14 shots in a game where every shot counted for the home team.

Gudlevskis
Game 2 was less successful for Lindback, pulled with ten minutes to go after conceding 3 goals on 23 shots. Coach Jon Cooper decided to bring Latvian Olympic suprise Kristers Gudlevskis into the net for the final minutes, perhaps thinking that with the game already lost and a big question mark over Lindback's head for Game 3 that it might give Gudlevskis a chance to show what he was made of. Unfortunately that was not to be as Gudlevskis conceded a goal despite only facing 3 shots.

Gudlevskis made a name for himself at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, back-stopping Latvia against the Gold medal winning Canada team in the Quarter Finals. Gudlevskis play was stellar, stopping 55 of 57 shots and giving his team a real chance to cause an upset. Prior to relieving Lindback in Game 2 Gudlevskis only had one game's worth of NHL experience under his belt, a win at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he stopped 36 of 38 shots.

The big questions now are who will start in net for the Lightning in Game 3 tonight at 7pm ET, will Cooper opt for more of the same or give the inexperienced Gudlevskis the nod, and is there anything the Tampa Bay Lightning can do to stop the onslaught of the Montreal Canadiens?

player images courtesy of NHL.com

Montreal Canadiens finish season strong

Finishing strong

Gionta makes history against Cam Talbot
Since a 3 game losing streak in early March the Canadiens have been on fire, finishing with an 11-3-1 record over the last 15 games of the regular season, despite going 1-1-1 in their last 3 games where the only win was a record breaking 1-0 overtime game at home to the Rangers. Somewhat surprisingly Brian Gionta's nifty penalty shot goal was the first ever to decide a game 1-0 in overtime. The habs have peaked at exactly the right time of year and will look to continue this streak deep in the playoffs.

Head to Head

Plekanec and Pyatt face-off
Tampa had the edge over the habs in the regular season with a  3-0-1 record, winning one in overtime and one by shootout. In contrast Montreal had a 1-1-2 record, the only win coming in a shootout. They scored only 1 goal in of the each games and did not look convincing in their final meeting. Despite expectations they habs bounched back and scored more goals than the entire regular season series just in Game 1 of the playoffs, defeating the Lightning 5-4 in OT to steal home ice advantage.

 

Since they last met

2003/04 Champions Tampa Bay Lightning
In 2003/04 Montreal were swept by the Lightning on route to their only Stanley Cup. Since then Montreal have had limited playoff success, going 10-16 at home, 10-17 away, and only winning 3 series in 9, two of those coming on route to the Conference finals in 2009/10 where they beaten by the Flyers in 5 games. Tampa have only featured in the playoffs 3 times since winning the cup, losing in the first round in '06 and '07 and reaching the conference finals in '11 where they were defeated by the eventual winners the Boston Bruins.

The final pieces

 ThomasVanek
Montreal made arguably the best deadline acquisitions of the season in Thomas Vanek, Dale Weise and Mike Weaver. Montreal has been desperate for more consistent goalscorers and Vanek has answered that call scoring 15 points in 18 games including a hatrick against the Avalanche in Patrick Roy's homecoming spoiler. Along with David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty the Canadiens have one of the most potent offensive lines going into the playoffs.

Dale Weise scores the OT winner
Since joining the habs from Vancouver, Dale Weise has had 4 goals, including 2 crucial game winners in 19 games. His previous 10 NHL goals took him 168 games to score. He is a key component in Montreals successful and deep 4th line. He scored his first playoff goal and arguably the most important goal of his career in Game 1 to break the overtime deadlock and earn Montreal the 1-0 series lead on the road.


Mike Weaver
Mike Weaver is another player who has come to life since joining the habs, going 1G 7A and a plus 11 rating in 19 games. He had 6 points and a minus 9 rating in 55 games with the Panthers to start the season. He has secured a placed in the 3rd defensive pairing playing alongside Francis Bouillon, keeping Douglas Murray and Jarred Tinordi out of lineup.

Bourque to the his best

Rene Bourque scores his second goal on the wrap-around
After a relatively average season finishing with 9G 7A and his 16 points outside the top 400 players, Rene Bourque appears to have come to life in the playoffs. After a decent first game performance Bourque went on to score 2 goals, including the game winner in Game 2. As hard as his linemates tried to give him the empty netter in the closing minutes he unfortunately could not cap off the hatrick, narrowly missing a chance to score from Dale Weise late on.

 

What the future holds

Datsyuk receives recognition for game winner
Providing Montreal can continue its dominance over Tampa, they will face either the Boston Bruins or the Detroit Red Wings in the Conference Semi's. Montreal was one of the few teams with a winning record against the Bruins; who are the favourites to win the Eastern bracket. Expect a animated and brutal series if the Bruins prevail against Detroit. They will have their work cut out though as Detroit has stolen home ice advantage by winning its first game on the road 1-0 against the Bruins, Pavel Datsyuk scoring the winner at 16:59 in the 3rd to break the deadlock in a highly exciting game.

1977-78 Montreal Canadiens
Montreal split its season series with Detroit but won the last 2 games including a spectacular back and forth display on March 27th where the Canadiens emerged victorious 5-4. The last time these two teams met in the post-season was back in 1978 when the habs prevailed 4-1 en-route to their 21st Stanley Cup. Either way Montreal will face an Original-Six rival in the next round. It is possible that Montreal if continue to win they could face-off Original-Six rivals all the way through to the final this year for the first time since 1979, providing the Rangers win their divisional bracket and Chicago wins the Western bracket.

- images courtesy of NHL.com