Good to talk to you again....as you know my predictions for RD 3 were Buffalo in 7 and Anaheim in 7.....of course both are still possible.....but lets face it; it doesnt look good.
Anaheim has trouble scoring and have lost 1st liner Chris Kunitz.....to boot they have lost Chris Pronger for Game 4 and that wont help. I thought Pronger should be suspended....was somewhat surprised that the NHL indeed suspended him,,,,,but if the NHL wants to make a real statement they have to start making the punishments a lot heavier,,,,,one day; and hopefully that day never comes; someone will die on the ice.....at which point the NHL will wonder where it all went wrong.....start with longer suspensions and costlier ones....if u do that, players will think twice.
i was in ottawa last nite....the atmosphere was much better than game 3....but still not good enough....everyone was waiting to celebrate.....unfortunately for them it didnt happen.....but the Sens are playing so well right now that they can celebrate soon......as for The Scotia Bank Place, that arena is so quiet compared to The Bell Centre....here in Montreal the building is buzzing and rocking 20 mins before the game...in Ottawa, the most noise takes place when a fellow named Bobby Lalonde plays his violin or whatever instrument it is.....Stanley Cup Playoffs...Semi Finals...Game 4.....1 win away for a Stanley Cup Final.....and people only make noise for Bobby Lalonde.....r u kidding me? i mentionned this to a few people in Ottawa and they dont appreciate it....an Ottawa resident asked me last nite, ''How loud has The Bell Centre been lately?''....u know what, let them take shots at Montreal...they have suffered and waited a long time...its their turn.
i do want to take this opportinity to tip my hat to the entire Ottawa Senators Organization....the players and media have a tremendous relationship....its so laid back, it realy is a pleasure covering that team,....quick story: when Antoine Vermette was drafted, he was given a quick course on Relations with the Media....the course was given by Roy Mlakar (CEO of the Sens). Mlakar, told Vermette be good to the media, this is the way we do it in Ottawa,.....i hope the execs with the Montreal Canadiens read this.....trust me its nite and day.....
I have a lot of admiration for Sabres Goalie Ryan Miller. He continues to battle and give his team a chance.....this guy is an incredible goaltender.....i no longer like Buffalo's chances, but with Miller standing on his head,,,,,the Sabres and their fans can still believe.....this guy is that good.
Been a fun past 2 days....yesterday, Randy ''The Natural'' Couture, UFC Champion was in studio...today, we were visited by Sylvain Grenier of WWE and former Olympian Bruny Surin....It was great to have them; 3 stand up individuals.....its always nice having the guys visit us.
back on air tomorrow....im going to do some prep work now,.,,,watch the game tonite and talk to you tomorrow between 11am and 1pm. Ciao!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
L'affaire Shane Doan and Previewing RD3
This past week I listened to the other guys on french radio and watched the show at 11pm, just to get a feel for what people were saying regarding the Shane Doan Affair. I cant believe all the garbage I heard. Take you back 17 months, 4 french officials are working the Phoenix-Montreal game at the Bell Centre. Midway thru the game, Ladislav Nagy refers to the officials as F'in Frenchmen. At which point, the refs say no more of this stuff or you're in trouble. Late in the game, Coyotes goaltender Curtis Joseph argues over a penalty; Shane Doan comes over and says ''Cuje, four french refs in Montreal....what do you expect?'' After the game, the NHL referee report states Shane Doan used the slur F'in Frenchmen. The slur, was indeed said; but Shane Doan didnt say it. Next thing you now, a bunch of clowns in The House of Commons are upset that Shane Doan was named Captain for Canada at The World Hockey Championships. I worked that Phoenix-Montreal game and a couple of months ago, I talked to Mike Johnson about it. Johnson, was on the ice for Phoenix at the time. Johnson is a straight arrow. He swore to me that someone did indeed say it; but it wasnt him nor was it Shane Doan. The guys know nothing about Shane Doan. The guy is as good as it gets. Its sad to see they are guestioning his character and bringing him down just for the sake of trying to get a few votes down the line. It was nice to see some NHLers from Quebec like Daniel Briere and Denis Gauthier state there was no way Doan would say such a thing. In the meantime, Im hoping for 3 things to come out of this. (#1) the guy who said it, stand up and admit it. (#2) shane doan gets a public apology. (#3) they talk about bettering education and healthcare at The House of Commons.
As for the NHL Playoffs, I went 3 for 4. Only mistake was NJ. Ottawa was clearly better....cant believe Ray Emery outgoaltended Martin Brodeur, but he did. Brodeur, let in many bad goals. Next year, the Devils should think twice about using the 35 year old as much as they do. Simply put, he seemed like a tired goalie down the stretch. Going into the playoffs, my prediction was Buffalo over Anaheim for the Cup. I wont sway away from that. Buffalo beats Ottawa in 7. And, Anaheim will down Detroit in 7 as well.
Some final words on Mayweather - De La Hoya. I am a huge De La Hoya fan. But, I disagree with those who think he should have earned at least a draw. Mayweather, landed a lot more and his defense was inpenetrable. A lot of people dont like Mayweather because he's arrogant and he doesnt get into wars in the ring. The bottom line is he boxed intelligently. Was Oscar De La Hoya the aggressor? Yes. But, the rounds arent scored on whose more aggressive; they are scored on who landed punches. I had it 116-112 Mayweather. And, yes..there'll be a rematch!
Enjoy RD 3 of the NHL Playoffs. Ciao for now.
As for the NHL Playoffs, I went 3 for 4. Only mistake was NJ. Ottawa was clearly better....cant believe Ray Emery outgoaltended Martin Brodeur, but he did. Brodeur, let in many bad goals. Next year, the Devils should think twice about using the 35 year old as much as they do. Simply put, he seemed like a tired goalie down the stretch. Going into the playoffs, my prediction was Buffalo over Anaheim for the Cup. I wont sway away from that. Buffalo beats Ottawa in 7. And, Anaheim will down Detroit in 7 as well.
Some final words on Mayweather - De La Hoya. I am a huge De La Hoya fan. But, I disagree with those who think he should have earned at least a draw. Mayweather, landed a lot more and his defense was inpenetrable. A lot of people dont like Mayweather because he's arrogant and he doesnt get into wars in the ring. The bottom line is he boxed intelligently. Was Oscar De La Hoya the aggressor? Yes. But, the rounds arent scored on whose more aggressive; they are scored on who landed punches. I had it 116-112 Mayweather. And, yes..there'll be a rematch!
Enjoy RD 3 of the NHL Playoffs. Ciao for now.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
I still like Buffalo......
Since our last post, nothing surprising to report.....no real upsets in Round 1...I picked the NYR to beat Atlanta, but didn't think they would sweep them in 4. Atlanta is a mess. They have a bunch of individuals there; its not a team. Too many me, myself and I players....with Kovalchuk leading the way in that category. I wasn't high on the trading for Tkachuk and Zhitnik either. Surely, GM Don Waddell regrets acquiring those 2 players....
As for the other series, I was hoping Pittsburgh would have made it tougher for Ottawa....The Penguins I believe, along with Buffalo, were the most exciting teams during the NHL Regular Season and I wanted to see more of them. Clearly Ottawa was just too deep and too strong. For the Pens, not enough experience. They will be back and their time will come. Word has it, Ray Shero is hoping to extend the contract of coach Michel Therrien and you know what......Michel Mon Belle deserves to be back....I have to admit, I never thought I would say this after the whole Bill Lindsay taking the faceoff mess in 2002 vs Carolina. Nor, did I think I would say it after his Montreal team constantly gave up 35+ shots per game.....Nor, did I think I would say it after Therrien said his team needed to give up less than 15 scoring chances per game....And finally, I never thought I would say this after Therrien crushed his players with a 1 minute rant last year following a loss in Edmonton. BUT, here goes....Therrien, has grown as a coach. He is a better tactician and a much better communicator. He handles himself a lot better and is much more composed. Does he still have some things to learn? YES. To start, he has to give Crosby more icetime...makes sense, he's the best player in the league. But like I said, he's growing and deserves to be back behind the bench. All that being said, I would give him a 1, maybe 2 year deal.
Here are my Round 2 predictions (with certainty): Buffalo and Anaheim. (not certain): NJ and Detroit......the opposite result (Ott & SJ)wouldnt surprise me one bit....what I can tell you is I have liked Buffalo to win the Cup for months and Im not changing my mind. They have coaching, solid goaltending, 6 D that can move the puck and 4 line depth with quick strike offense.
Here in Montreal,,,,,same old....same old.....Kovalev not happy; complaining about his situation to a Russian Daily Paper.....Mind you, a lot of the things he said were true. HOWEVER, if Kovalev wants to be true to himself; he should take 1 long look in the mirror and blame himself for not delivering the goods....It just seems like AK27 is trying to jet from Montreal to another destination next year....If he needs a lift to the Airport, ''Fillipo the Taxi Driver'' has already volunteered.....
Talk to you in a bit.
As for the other series, I was hoping Pittsburgh would have made it tougher for Ottawa....The Penguins I believe, along with Buffalo, were the most exciting teams during the NHL Regular Season and I wanted to see more of them. Clearly Ottawa was just too deep and too strong. For the Pens, not enough experience. They will be back and their time will come. Word has it, Ray Shero is hoping to extend the contract of coach Michel Therrien and you know what......Michel Mon Belle deserves to be back....I have to admit, I never thought I would say this after the whole Bill Lindsay taking the faceoff mess in 2002 vs Carolina. Nor, did I think I would say it after his Montreal team constantly gave up 35+ shots per game.....Nor, did I think I would say it after Therrien said his team needed to give up less than 15 scoring chances per game....And finally, I never thought I would say this after Therrien crushed his players with a 1 minute rant last year following a loss in Edmonton. BUT, here goes....Therrien, has grown as a coach. He is a better tactician and a much better communicator. He handles himself a lot better and is much more composed. Does he still have some things to learn? YES. To start, he has to give Crosby more icetime...makes sense, he's the best player in the league. But like I said, he's growing and deserves to be back behind the bench. All that being said, I would give him a 1, maybe 2 year deal.
Here are my Round 2 predictions (with certainty): Buffalo and Anaheim. (not certain): NJ and Detroit......the opposite result (Ott & SJ)wouldnt surprise me one bit....what I can tell you is I have liked Buffalo to win the Cup for months and Im not changing my mind. They have coaching, solid goaltending, 6 D that can move the puck and 4 line depth with quick strike offense.
Here in Montreal,,,,,same old....same old.....Kovalev not happy; complaining about his situation to a Russian Daily Paper.....Mind you, a lot of the things he said were true. HOWEVER, if Kovalev wants to be true to himself; he should take 1 long look in the mirror and blame himself for not delivering the goods....It just seems like AK27 is trying to jet from Montreal to another destination next year....If he needs a lift to the Airport, ''Fillipo the Taxi Driver'' has already volunteered.....
Talk to you in a bit.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Canadiens didnt deserve to make playoffs!
Back in 2005-06, the Montreal Candiens finished 7th in the Eastern Conference with 93 points. Come Late-September, many people believed the Canadiens would be better with Samsonov, Johnson, and Latendresse than they would be with Zednik, Bulis and Sundstrom. Although, the Canadiens looked sexier on paper, I said they would finish 8th, this time around. I remember going to the Bell Center later that day. As soon as I entered the Media Room, Mtl Gazette Columnist Pat Hickey looked and me and said, ''How can you pick them to finish 8th, they're a lot better team than they were last season. I looked at him and said, ''Im not sure about that, Pat.'' He said why not? I replied, three reasons Pat. (1) I needed to see if Huet could repeat (2) I wasn't sold on the coaching staff, two of which were rookie coaches and (3) I thought other teams got better. When all was said and done, I was wrong about the 8th spot, they finished in 10th (2 points out of 8th); however, I was right about the Habs not being better than they were in 05-06.
This past Thursday on the Montreal Forum, I was asked to predict the final 2 games, Mtl in NY and Mtl in Toronto. I predicted the Canadiens would lose both. Had the games been in Montreal, it would have been a different story. Montreal had won 9 straight at home. However, ''Road Warriors'' the Canadiens are not. They went into their game against the NYR with only 2 wins in their last 9 road games. Meanwhile, NYR were 12-2-2-2 in their past 18. Toronto had won 8 straight at home. I said it before, and I will say it again. The Montreal Canadiens are a Homer Team. They had a chance to get rid of that label and make the playoffs by winning their last game. Despite being up 5-3, they failed to do so. BTW, I flew to Toronto on Saturday afternoon to cover the game. Out of all the players I talked too after the game, the guy that really took the loss badly was Chris Higgins. He was holding back tears....he my friends, is ''The Real McCoy.''
Want an interesting stat? Going into the last game in Toronto, the 1st line duo of Koivu and Ryder had 1 even strength goal on the road since December 1st. The duo of Downey and Murray (a couple of 5th liners) had 2 goals. Pathetic. This team DEFINITELY didnt deserve to make the playoffs.
So lets look at the Good:
markov, komisarek, souray on the PP, ryder when he shoots and does nothing else but shoots, plekanec, streit, halak, lapierres energy, flashes of kostitsyn's ability, 16 goals from latendresse , higgins dominating before the ankle injury and dominating again in the final game, koivu's career high 22 goals, and huet for a couple of months.
The In-Between:
bonk, johnson, perezoghin, begin (only because his Hits Per Game stats are up there)
The Ugly:
Samsonov (bust) , Kovalev (no longer a clutch performer), Niinimaa (damaged goods), Aebischer (a technical disaster in goal), the d-men struggling to get the puck out of the zone (with the exception of markov), the dumb penalties they took in the final game (johnson, begin, koivu), the not showing up for the start of the game (8 out of 10 games) The Minus Stats from their top players...
As for The Management Team and Coaching Staff:
Two weeks prior to the trade deadline, I said the Canadiens should be ''Sellers'' and never changed my mind. The organization decided differently. Six weeks later their season is over and they are left with bigtime off-season decisions. The Mangement Team & Coaching Staff, did some good things and some not so good things. But, at the end of the day when the goal is to make the playoffs and you don't; you have failed.
Congrats to the NYI for making the playoffs. Good to see a team rewarded for pulling the trigger on Feb 27th the way they did; and for not giving up when their #1 goalie got hurt. And, btw Ted Nolan could coach my team any day! Unfortunately for the NYI, their season won't last much longer. I'm picking BUFFALO to win the Stanley Cup.
Playoffs start Wednesday. Enjoy.
This past Thursday on the Montreal Forum, I was asked to predict the final 2 games, Mtl in NY and Mtl in Toronto. I predicted the Canadiens would lose both. Had the games been in Montreal, it would have been a different story. Montreal had won 9 straight at home. However, ''Road Warriors'' the Canadiens are not. They went into their game against the NYR with only 2 wins in their last 9 road games. Meanwhile, NYR were 12-2-2-2 in their past 18. Toronto had won 8 straight at home. I said it before, and I will say it again. The Montreal Canadiens are a Homer Team. They had a chance to get rid of that label and make the playoffs by winning their last game. Despite being up 5-3, they failed to do so. BTW, I flew to Toronto on Saturday afternoon to cover the game. Out of all the players I talked too after the game, the guy that really took the loss badly was Chris Higgins. He was holding back tears....he my friends, is ''The Real McCoy.''
Want an interesting stat? Going into the last game in Toronto, the 1st line duo of Koivu and Ryder had 1 even strength goal on the road since December 1st. The duo of Downey and Murray (a couple of 5th liners) had 2 goals. Pathetic. This team DEFINITELY didnt deserve to make the playoffs.
So lets look at the Good:
markov, komisarek, souray on the PP, ryder when he shoots and does nothing else but shoots, plekanec, streit, halak, lapierres energy, flashes of kostitsyn's ability, 16 goals from latendresse , higgins dominating before the ankle injury and dominating again in the final game, koivu's career high 22 goals, and huet for a couple of months.
The In-Between:
bonk, johnson, perezoghin, begin (only because his Hits Per Game stats are up there)
The Ugly:
Samsonov (bust) , Kovalev (no longer a clutch performer), Niinimaa (damaged goods), Aebischer (a technical disaster in goal), the d-men struggling to get the puck out of the zone (with the exception of markov), the dumb penalties they took in the final game (johnson, begin, koivu), the not showing up for the start of the game (8 out of 10 games) The Minus Stats from their top players...
As for The Management Team and Coaching Staff:
Two weeks prior to the trade deadline, I said the Canadiens should be ''Sellers'' and never changed my mind. The organization decided differently. Six weeks later their season is over and they are left with bigtime off-season decisions. The Mangement Team & Coaching Staff, did some good things and some not so good things. But, at the end of the day when the goal is to make the playoffs and you don't; you have failed.
Congrats to the NYI for making the playoffs. Good to see a team rewarded for pulling the trigger on Feb 27th the way they did; and for not giving up when their #1 goalie got hurt. And, btw Ted Nolan could coach my team any day! Unfortunately for the NYI, their season won't last much longer. I'm picking BUFFALO to win the Stanley Cup.
Playoffs start Wednesday. Enjoy.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Habs horrendous in the Big Apple
Its been a while....worked a lot more on-air over the past week and didnt have much time to update my blog.....apologies. Busy week,,,,,on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I was on air from 11am to 3pm; not to mention 2 postgame shows during that period. Furtermore, I am working on a hockey project (will give you details in near future). And, when I wasn't involved with that, guess what I was doing??? yep, you guessed it,,,,,i bought a horse. Ok, not just me. Along with 42 other people I bought a 3yr old racehorse....she's beautiful. Her name is Sumwonlovesyou and she will race in Kentucky next week. If all goes well, I will visit her at Saratoga in August. Im starting to get hooked on horseracing....if I can ever witness her win a race, that will be truly something special.
Speaking of winning, thats something the NYR did earlier this evening. Credit to The Blueshirts, they dominated and were deserving of the win. As for the Canadiens.......they were awful. Before leaving for NY, rookie goaltender Jaroslav Halak said he was too young to feel any pressure. Was he serious?
1st period: Less than 3 minutes in, Mtl is down 1 zip. For NY, 1 shot 1 goal. On the play, Janne Niinimaa was outskated by Petr Prucha down the right side and his shot from the right faceoff circle beat Halak. Janne Niinimaa, is a great team guy.....he has experience and he plays his heart out, BUT Carbonneau has to realize that Niinimaa's best just isn't good enough. It's mind boggling that Josh Gorges was the #5 d-man in San Jose, but can't crack the Habs Top 6. I would have Gorges in there,,,,weeks ago. No doubt it was Niinimaa's mistake, BUT I also think Halak could have done bettter on this one too. I know,,,,I know, people will say it was a good shot, BUT in the biggest game of the year, you have to stop that shot IMO.
Onto Period #2: Bouillon can't get the puck out of the zone....it's picked up by Shanahan who dishes it to Nylander, he feeds Jagr and its 2 nothing NYR. Kudos to Tom Renney for inserting Shanahan on that line and catching the Canadiens with Bouillon and Souray out there, instead of Markov and Komisarek. Great coaching. Tom Renney did real well and his team followed the gameplan perfectly. The Canadiens couldn't gain speed through the neutral zone and their inability to get pucks deep cost them. On the other hand, NY pressured the Mtl d-men and forced turnovers.......Mtl had a few chances to narrow the lead but Ryder couldn't lift the puck over Lundqvist and Koivu picked up the loose puck and missed. With only 94 seconds remaining in the frame, Marek Malik's point shot beat Halak short side. That one was clearly a shot Halak should have stopped....HOWEVER, I would also like to add that had it not been for Halak, it could have been at least 5-0 NYR after two.....It was that ugly.
3rd Period: Cristobal Huet starts the 3rd which was the right move for a couple of reasons. (1) sometimes goalie changes can a give a team a spark (2) Huet needed to shake off some rust (3) he might be needed on Saturday, either to start or come in at some point. Only guy to get the Canadiens on the board was Sheldon Souray, he scored his 26th goal of the season, it was a PP marker. Too little, too late. Rangers win 3-1.....the only good news is Toronto also lost in NY, 5-2 to the Islanders....
Next up, final game of the season for the Habs. Game #82; Montreal in Toronto. Huge game; 1 point for Mtl eliminates Toronto, but might not be enough because if the NY Islanders beat Philly and Jersey, then Ted Nolan's club would make the playoffs and Mtl and Toronto would not....unreal. So, what will happen? Who will start in goal? Guy Carbonneau faces a difficult decision. On one hand, Huet was stellar during the midway point of the season. On the other hand, Halak did the job down the stretch. Even though Huet wasn't tested much, my gut feeling tells me Guy Carbonneau may sense that Halak is nervous and he'll start Huet. As for the result, anything can happen. But, lets face it. The Montreal Canadiens are a ''Homer Team'' At the Bell Centre, they have won 9 straight, but on the road they have won only 2 times in their past 10 games. Thats not very re-assuring heading in to the ACC.
May the team that works harder and wants it more be compensated on Saturday nite. I'm off tomorrow.....talk to you soon. Ciao.
Speaking of winning, thats something the NYR did earlier this evening. Credit to The Blueshirts, they dominated and were deserving of the win. As for the Canadiens.......they were awful. Before leaving for NY, rookie goaltender Jaroslav Halak said he was too young to feel any pressure. Was he serious?
1st period: Less than 3 minutes in, Mtl is down 1 zip. For NY, 1 shot 1 goal. On the play, Janne Niinimaa was outskated by Petr Prucha down the right side and his shot from the right faceoff circle beat Halak. Janne Niinimaa, is a great team guy.....he has experience and he plays his heart out, BUT Carbonneau has to realize that Niinimaa's best just isn't good enough. It's mind boggling that Josh Gorges was the #5 d-man in San Jose, but can't crack the Habs Top 6. I would have Gorges in there,,,,weeks ago. No doubt it was Niinimaa's mistake, BUT I also think Halak could have done bettter on this one too. I know,,,,I know, people will say it was a good shot, BUT in the biggest game of the year, you have to stop that shot IMO.
Onto Period #2: Bouillon can't get the puck out of the zone....it's picked up by Shanahan who dishes it to Nylander, he feeds Jagr and its 2 nothing NYR. Kudos to Tom Renney for inserting Shanahan on that line and catching the Canadiens with Bouillon and Souray out there, instead of Markov and Komisarek. Great coaching. Tom Renney did real well and his team followed the gameplan perfectly. The Canadiens couldn't gain speed through the neutral zone and their inability to get pucks deep cost them. On the other hand, NY pressured the Mtl d-men and forced turnovers.......Mtl had a few chances to narrow the lead but Ryder couldn't lift the puck over Lundqvist and Koivu picked up the loose puck and missed. With only 94 seconds remaining in the frame, Marek Malik's point shot beat Halak short side. That one was clearly a shot Halak should have stopped....HOWEVER, I would also like to add that had it not been for Halak, it could have been at least 5-0 NYR after two.....It was that ugly.
3rd Period: Cristobal Huet starts the 3rd which was the right move for a couple of reasons. (1) sometimes goalie changes can a give a team a spark (2) Huet needed to shake off some rust (3) he might be needed on Saturday, either to start or come in at some point. Only guy to get the Canadiens on the board was Sheldon Souray, he scored his 26th goal of the season, it was a PP marker. Too little, too late. Rangers win 3-1.....the only good news is Toronto also lost in NY, 5-2 to the Islanders....
Next up, final game of the season for the Habs. Game #82; Montreal in Toronto. Huge game; 1 point for Mtl eliminates Toronto, but might not be enough because if the NY Islanders beat Philly and Jersey, then Ted Nolan's club would make the playoffs and Mtl and Toronto would not....unreal. So, what will happen? Who will start in goal? Guy Carbonneau faces a difficult decision. On one hand, Huet was stellar during the midway point of the season. On the other hand, Halak did the job down the stretch. Even though Huet wasn't tested much, my gut feeling tells me Guy Carbonneau may sense that Halak is nervous and he'll start Huet. As for the result, anything can happen. But, lets face it. The Montreal Canadiens are a ''Homer Team'' At the Bell Centre, they have won 9 straight, but on the road they have won only 2 times in their past 10 games. Thats not very re-assuring heading in to the ACC.
May the team that works harder and wants it more be compensated on Saturday nite. I'm off tomorrow.....talk to you soon. Ciao.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Do Habs deserve to make the playoffs?
Its Monday nite 11:58pm. I haven't posted a blog in a while; figured its a good time.
Let me take you back to last Monday. 10:50am: I call PJ Stock and advise him Christobal Huet has been involved in on-ice training at Concordia. PJ, tells me he heard that already and hangs up.....nice guy that PJ. I enter the studio 5 minutes later and say why did you hang up? PJ laughs and says, ''Tony just because he's training doesn't mean he'll be back, he's out for the season.'' I look at him and say, ''No, he's not, I have been told that he'll be back.''
Next day: Tuesday, March 13th. Huet, tells the media at the Bell Centre that he was at Concordia for a few days and didnt face any shots. I know for a fact that Huet trained there for 5 days and faced a lot of shots. I know that because I found out on Monday that a buddy of mine took some shots on him. Anyway, the Montreal Media continues to say Huet is unlikely to come back. At 12:10pm, I say, ''If the Canadiens are still in the playoff hunt, Huet will start vs the NYR on March 27.'' I was sure of that as well because someone close to the situation told me Huet would be 100% by then. Now, Im hearing that a fellow member of the media said over the weekend on the CBC that Huet will probably start Saturday, March 24 vs Washington. Folks, just remember where you heard it first that Huet would play again this season.
Friday nite: I thought the Canadiens blew a great opportunity to make up some ground. After 2 periods of play, Toronto trails Washington 3-1 and Tampa is losing by the same score to Buffalo. Meanwhile, Montreal is tied at 2 with Pittsburgh. The Habs needed to take advantage but gave up 4 goals in the third. Once again, David Aebischer was simply horrendous. He's played his last game for Montreal. Nice young man, awful goaltender.
Saturday nite: Big character win for Montreal beating Toronto 3-2 in a shootout. The catalysts: Everybody. Especially, Francis Bouillon, Jaroslav Halak, Saku Koivu and Andrei Kostitsyn. Bouillon's fight with Darcy Tucker lifted the team. As for goalie Jaroslav Halak if it wasn't for him Montreal would have lost in regulation. And, Koivu and Kostitsyn, got the job done in the shootout. The win was huge, but if the Canadiens want to make the playoffs, they cant give teams they're battling with a point.
9 games to go; Canadiens are 2 points out of the playoffs. Of course, it would be great for the city if they make it to the dance; but to tell you the truth, I dont think the Canadiens deserve to make the playoffs. Why not, you ask? Simple. (a) They have conceded more goals than they have scored. Goal differential of -17. (b) 6 of their top 7 point getters are minus players, accounting for -89 and (c) when you are scoreboard watching this time of year hoping for help its because as a team you didnt get the job done. Add it all up, its not playoff worthy.
Sunday afternoon: I dropped by La Pizzeria Etc in Blainville. Sheldon Souray is one of the owners. Great pizza; check it out. Sheldon was there and so were about 500 Canadiens fans. They were chanting, ''Go Habs Go'' and ''Souray Souray Souray''. It was nuts. Sheldon was there for quite some time and signed hundreds of autographs and took hundreds of pictures. I have seen him do this more than once. He is an awesome person and IMO the ''Real Captain'' of the team. Thats not a shot at Koivu, either. Everywhere I go, people ask me will Souray be back next year? Sheldon has never told me this, but my gut feeling is as much as he loves it here, he's done his time and he will move on. Only time will tell.....
In ending, I want to say what a great time I had when I took part in the 1st ever Bell Centre Challenge courtesy of Molson Export. I thought we had a great team. In goal, Leo Luongo (Roberto's younger brother), Defence Pair 1 was composed of Arduino Patulli and Dennis Kwan, our other pairing was Sean Campbell and Giorgio Porcari. Up front, Line 1: Lucio De Martinis, Ben Raspa and Tony Aversano. The second line had Anthony Giambagno centering Jimmy Papapostolou and Billy Karagiannitis. And, the 3rd line had myself on Left Wing with Aldo Polisena on the right side and Domenic Sollazzo in the middle. Our first game was a hard fought win over PJ Stock's team. PJ, did a lot of trash talking before the game, but I warned him my team would do our talking on the ice and we squeaked out a 3-1 victory. We then played the Morning Show and I picked up a goal. We were up 3 nothing when i was awarded a penalty shot. I dont think too many people expected me to score, but I did my best Jussi Jokinen impersonation and it worked. As a matter of fact, everything went my way in that game. We beat them 5 nothing and I was on for every goal. Unfortunately, we lost our last game to Melnicks team. I wont make escuses BUT I will say that it was our second straight game, meanwhile Melnicks team had just over 30 mins rest before the game. We played hard, we were down 1 nothing with 3 minutes left and eventually lost 3 zip. They were good, but I wouldn't mind playing them again. I have too, I haven't digested that loss.
Getting late, Im going to hit the sack.......big show tomorrow,,,,its Gameday. Boston visits Montreal. Enjoy the game everybody. I will talk to you in a couple of days. Peace.
Let me take you back to last Monday. 10:50am: I call PJ Stock and advise him Christobal Huet has been involved in on-ice training at Concordia. PJ, tells me he heard that already and hangs up.....nice guy that PJ. I enter the studio 5 minutes later and say why did you hang up? PJ laughs and says, ''Tony just because he's training doesn't mean he'll be back, he's out for the season.'' I look at him and say, ''No, he's not, I have been told that he'll be back.''
Next day: Tuesday, March 13th. Huet, tells the media at the Bell Centre that he was at Concordia for a few days and didnt face any shots. I know for a fact that Huet trained there for 5 days and faced a lot of shots. I know that because I found out on Monday that a buddy of mine took some shots on him. Anyway, the Montreal Media continues to say Huet is unlikely to come back. At 12:10pm, I say, ''If the Canadiens are still in the playoff hunt, Huet will start vs the NYR on March 27.'' I was sure of that as well because someone close to the situation told me Huet would be 100% by then. Now, Im hearing that a fellow member of the media said over the weekend on the CBC that Huet will probably start Saturday, March 24 vs Washington. Folks, just remember where you heard it first that Huet would play again this season.
Friday nite: I thought the Canadiens blew a great opportunity to make up some ground. After 2 periods of play, Toronto trails Washington 3-1 and Tampa is losing by the same score to Buffalo. Meanwhile, Montreal is tied at 2 with Pittsburgh. The Habs needed to take advantage but gave up 4 goals in the third. Once again, David Aebischer was simply horrendous. He's played his last game for Montreal. Nice young man, awful goaltender.
Saturday nite: Big character win for Montreal beating Toronto 3-2 in a shootout. The catalysts: Everybody. Especially, Francis Bouillon, Jaroslav Halak, Saku Koivu and Andrei Kostitsyn. Bouillon's fight with Darcy Tucker lifted the team. As for goalie Jaroslav Halak if it wasn't for him Montreal would have lost in regulation. And, Koivu and Kostitsyn, got the job done in the shootout. The win was huge, but if the Canadiens want to make the playoffs, they cant give teams they're battling with a point.
9 games to go; Canadiens are 2 points out of the playoffs. Of course, it would be great for the city if they make it to the dance; but to tell you the truth, I dont think the Canadiens deserve to make the playoffs. Why not, you ask? Simple. (a) They have conceded more goals than they have scored. Goal differential of -17. (b) 6 of their top 7 point getters are minus players, accounting for -89 and (c) when you are scoreboard watching this time of year hoping for help its because as a team you didnt get the job done. Add it all up, its not playoff worthy.
Sunday afternoon: I dropped by La Pizzeria Etc in Blainville. Sheldon Souray is one of the owners. Great pizza; check it out. Sheldon was there and so were about 500 Canadiens fans. They were chanting, ''Go Habs Go'' and ''Souray Souray Souray''. It was nuts. Sheldon was there for quite some time and signed hundreds of autographs and took hundreds of pictures. I have seen him do this more than once. He is an awesome person and IMO the ''Real Captain'' of the team. Thats not a shot at Koivu, either. Everywhere I go, people ask me will Souray be back next year? Sheldon has never told me this, but my gut feeling is as much as he loves it here, he's done his time and he will move on. Only time will tell.....
In ending, I want to say what a great time I had when I took part in the 1st ever Bell Centre Challenge courtesy of Molson Export. I thought we had a great team. In goal, Leo Luongo (Roberto's younger brother), Defence Pair 1 was composed of Arduino Patulli and Dennis Kwan, our other pairing was Sean Campbell and Giorgio Porcari. Up front, Line 1: Lucio De Martinis, Ben Raspa and Tony Aversano. The second line had Anthony Giambagno centering Jimmy Papapostolou and Billy Karagiannitis. And, the 3rd line had myself on Left Wing with Aldo Polisena on the right side and Domenic Sollazzo in the middle. Our first game was a hard fought win over PJ Stock's team. PJ, did a lot of trash talking before the game, but I warned him my team would do our talking on the ice and we squeaked out a 3-1 victory. We then played the Morning Show and I picked up a goal. We were up 3 nothing when i was awarded a penalty shot. I dont think too many people expected me to score, but I did my best Jussi Jokinen impersonation and it worked. As a matter of fact, everything went my way in that game. We beat them 5 nothing and I was on for every goal. Unfortunately, we lost our last game to Melnicks team. I wont make escuses BUT I will say that it was our second straight game, meanwhile Melnicks team had just over 30 mins rest before the game. We played hard, we were down 1 nothing with 3 minutes left and eventually lost 3 zip. They were good, but I wouldn't mind playing them again. I have too, I haven't digested that loss.
Getting late, Im going to hit the sack.......big show tomorrow,,,,its Gameday. Boston visits Montreal. Enjoy the game everybody. I will talk to you in a couple of days. Peace.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Habs in trouble...I saw it coming
Friday morning: I'm making breakfast for my youngest son; I will leave for work soon. Past couple of days have been crazy. When the Canadiens lose, the callers can get pretty emotional. However, no solution seems to drastic right now to get the team back on track. The team has been talking the talk for the past week promising to make a push to get them into the playoffs. If you haven't figured it out yet, talk is cheap if you can't back it up. Tomorrow the Canadiens will play Game 5 of their 5 game road trip. After 4 games, 4 losses and outscored 21-8. Ouch, thats really ugly! After the whole Kovalev-LaPresse saga, the team still didn't rebound. Alarming, to say the least. Before we move on, I still would like to hear the tape......
Now, I want to take this opportunity to paste some statements from my previous blogs below.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
1) Folks, what happened in the first half was a ‘mirage’ because the team overachieved.
Friday, February 9, 2007
2) The dressing room is not what it used to be. IMO, Things started to "unravel" when Guy Carbonneau made Craig Rivet a healthy scratch. That, was a damaging strategy to date. Rivet, was indeed struggling on the ice, but he has alot of credibility in the dressing room. Why? Because he gives you everything he's got every night, night after night, season after season. That means alot to teammates.
3) Im not going to blame just the coach for the Habs struggles. Its time for the leaders to step up and for the guys to pull in the same direction. There is not enough scoring and raw talent on this team for guys to take nites off.......Once again, remember what I have told you since October 1st; this team will battle for a playoff spot.....
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
4) The System: The Transition Game, is non-existent because most of the defencemen can't make a tape to tape pass. As for the forecheck: where is the speed everyone talks about? The problem is the team is playing a 1-2-2 system. Carbonneau, prefers this system because it insulates the defence and better protects the goaltender. However, when you have fast players, you should adopt a 2-1-2 system and be more aggressive on the forecheck. This system will help you create more turnovers and help create offense.
5) Management: Last year when Claude Julien lost 18 of 25; Gainey fired him. One year later, Gainey now knows it wasn't the coaches fault. This team just doesn't have the horses and there are 3 areas the GM needed to improve: Size, Depth at Center and Scoring.....3 years later, those 3 things are still missing.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
6) I guess you are wondering if Bob Gainey is talking to other teams? The answer is YES. Gainey, talked to Minnesota two weeks ago and has been talking with San Jose this week. But, Gainey won't make a deal just to shut people up. If he does pull the trigger, I think it will be with a western conference team.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
7) It's official, Bob Gainey didn't make a move. I wasnt really surprised; but if i was in his shoes, I would have been a seller.
8) In the meantime, the players were all coming down and went outside, where they waited for the team bus, set to leave 15 minutes later.....the players seemed down......they said they didnt expect the team to make a move, but deep down I believe they were hoping GM Bob Gainey would have added a player or two. Outside the players were split up in many groups....the whole time I was thinking where is the team spirit here? The players were talking with the media and the fans and signing autographs. Where is the focus? The guys were on their way to play Game #66 of the season and you would never know it.
9) Canadiens lose 4 nothing vs NYR. The guys werent very happy, especially Koivu. He was still disappointed that Rivet left.....it will take a while for him to get over that one. I can understand his disappointment, but at the same time, he's the Captain and he has to lead the team.
10) I asked another player if he was confident the team could finish strong. The player said, ''We are batttling for our playoff lives. There is pressure from the city, the fans and pressure we put on ourselves. Some players can handle it, it's obvious other players cannot.''
Ok, let's recap my 10 points above from my previous blogs.
1) No question; the 1st half was definitely a mirage.
2) The dressing room did start to crumble when Rivet was scratched.
3) The Canadiens best players have to be their best. It hasn't happened and thats why they're losing.
4) They still play the 1-2-2 and don't impose their footspeed or their rythm at all.
5) GM Bob Gainey didnt address the weaknesses of his club and they are paying for it.
6) Gainey did talk to San Jose, he traded Rivet there.
7) I definitely would have been a seller and would have tried to move Souray, Markov, Bonk and Kovalev. The first 3 are UFA's and you still have a chance to sign them if you want them back. As for Kovalev: they could do better things with the money. And, I would buy out Samsonov's contract at 66%.
8) The players were dejected and have been for a while. And, the focus clearly is not there.
9) Koivu hasnt been the same since Rivet left; it's about time he steps up. But, he'll need some help.
10) It's obvious this team has a lot of players that either dont care or cant play under pressure.
I am not here to toot my own horn, but I think it's obvious my points have been, as Pierre McGuire says, ''Bang On.'' The only mistake I made was when I said, ''This team will battle for a playoff spot.'' Sure, they are still in the hunt, but they are definitely not, ''Battling.'' Pretty sad, if you ask me. Be well everybody.
Now, I want to take this opportunity to paste some statements from my previous blogs below.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
1) Folks, what happened in the first half was a ‘mirage’ because the team overachieved.
Friday, February 9, 2007
2) The dressing room is not what it used to be. IMO, Things started to "unravel" when Guy Carbonneau made Craig Rivet a healthy scratch. That, was a damaging strategy to date. Rivet, was indeed struggling on the ice, but he has alot of credibility in the dressing room. Why? Because he gives you everything he's got every night, night after night, season after season. That means alot to teammates.
3) Im not going to blame just the coach for the Habs struggles. Its time for the leaders to step up and for the guys to pull in the same direction. There is not enough scoring and raw talent on this team for guys to take nites off.......Once again, remember what I have told you since October 1st; this team will battle for a playoff spot.....
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
4) The System: The Transition Game, is non-existent because most of the defencemen can't make a tape to tape pass. As for the forecheck: where is the speed everyone talks about? The problem is the team is playing a 1-2-2 system. Carbonneau, prefers this system because it insulates the defence and better protects the goaltender. However, when you have fast players, you should adopt a 2-1-2 system and be more aggressive on the forecheck. This system will help you create more turnovers and help create offense.
5) Management: Last year when Claude Julien lost 18 of 25; Gainey fired him. One year later, Gainey now knows it wasn't the coaches fault. This team just doesn't have the horses and there are 3 areas the GM needed to improve: Size, Depth at Center and Scoring.....3 years later, those 3 things are still missing.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
6) I guess you are wondering if Bob Gainey is talking to other teams? The answer is YES. Gainey, talked to Minnesota two weeks ago and has been talking with San Jose this week. But, Gainey won't make a deal just to shut people up. If he does pull the trigger, I think it will be with a western conference team.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
7) It's official, Bob Gainey didn't make a move. I wasnt really surprised; but if i was in his shoes, I would have been a seller.
8) In the meantime, the players were all coming down and went outside, where they waited for the team bus, set to leave 15 minutes later.....the players seemed down......they said they didnt expect the team to make a move, but deep down I believe they were hoping GM Bob Gainey would have added a player or two. Outside the players were split up in many groups....the whole time I was thinking where is the team spirit here? The players were talking with the media and the fans and signing autographs. Where is the focus? The guys were on their way to play Game #66 of the season and you would never know it.
9) Canadiens lose 4 nothing vs NYR. The guys werent very happy, especially Koivu. He was still disappointed that Rivet left.....it will take a while for him to get over that one. I can understand his disappointment, but at the same time, he's the Captain and he has to lead the team.
10) I asked another player if he was confident the team could finish strong. The player said, ''We are batttling for our playoff lives. There is pressure from the city, the fans and pressure we put on ourselves. Some players can handle it, it's obvious other players cannot.''
Ok, let's recap my 10 points above from my previous blogs.
1) No question; the 1st half was definitely a mirage.
2) The dressing room did start to crumble when Rivet was scratched.
3) The Canadiens best players have to be their best. It hasn't happened and thats why they're losing.
4) They still play the 1-2-2 and don't impose their footspeed or their rythm at all.
5) GM Bob Gainey didnt address the weaknesses of his club and they are paying for it.
6) Gainey did talk to San Jose, he traded Rivet there.
7) I definitely would have been a seller and would have tried to move Souray, Markov, Bonk and Kovalev. The first 3 are UFA's and you still have a chance to sign them if you want them back. As for Kovalev: they could do better things with the money. And, I would buy out Samsonov's contract at 66%.
8) The players were dejected and have been for a while. And, the focus clearly is not there.
9) Koivu hasnt been the same since Rivet left; it's about time he steps up. But, he'll need some help.
10) It's obvious this team has a lot of players that either dont care or cant play under pressure.
I am not here to toot my own horn, but I think it's obvious my points have been, as Pierre McGuire says, ''Bang On.'' The only mistake I made was when I said, ''This team will battle for a playoff spot.'' Sure, they are still in the hunt, but they are definitely not, ''Battling.'' Pretty sad, if you ask me. Be well everybody.
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