NHL, 2006-2007 season

Remove all ads!

Yeah, the Canadiens really didn't show up to play tonight. They really seemed to be dozing most of the game and they probably only produced three or four real scoring chances. They really have to stop taking so many penalties - without the three powerplay goals and the goal that was scored around a second after a penalty expired it would have been at least close.

Kaberle continues to play very well - he now leads all defensemen in points. McCabe had a good game too - both offensively and (I didn't think I would ever say this) defensively. At one point I was sure that Kovalev was going to blow right past him and go in on a breakaway but McCabe handled it perfectly. Given how much McCabe is being paid I would say that is how we should expect him to play all the time but I will stop

 

I really wanted to watch that game tonight, but when I went into the lounge, a bunch of people were watching some asian movie, and it didn't even have subtitles. But at least I could listen to it through NHL.com. Sure, Resnet crapped out every 20 minutes, but still. Sounded like the Leafs played a great game, with Kaberle destroying everything in his path. I mean his point streak started against Montreal last time, and that was his third through sixth point. Now he's up to seventeen in a matter of a couple of weeks. It might have taken him a little while to get going, but he seems on pace to have a career season. Probably one of the only good drafts made by the Leafs in the late 90's who they actually kept.

 

Antropov will be a top 6 forward but he needs a coach that knows what he brings to the table. Pat Quinn had some idea, but didn't get it right. Maurice is on the right track with him...

I got smoked this week in my hockey pool. Only GAA and Save percentage saved me from a squaduche, and ties in wins, Shutouts and Shorthanded points keep the other guy from running away with the week...

 

Calgary is doing a pretty good job of clawing their way back up into contention. Of course with Kiprusoff playing the way he has over the last five games it is kind of hard to lose. Considering how poorly he was playing when I saw him in Montreal it is nice to see that he is back in the groove.

Edit: You have to start wondering about Gerber's job security at this point. Emery got them the win against Buffalo yesterday and is sitting pretty at 4-2-0 with a 1.88 GAA and a .938 save percentage while Gerber is 3-8-1 with a 3.45 GAA and a .890 save percentage. It isn't fair to put all the blame on Gerber given that the rest of the team has been playing pretty poorly but from what I have seen Gerber has not looked sharp so far this year.

[ November 16, 2006, 14:05: Message edited by: JSBB ]

 

I totally agree. I mean I myself am not an Ottawa fan by any stretch, but I still want to see some spunk in them against teams other thatn Toronto. And I feel bad for Gerber, if things keep at their current rate, he'll be past him prime in no time, with the highlight of his career being the mockery he made of Team Canada in the Olympics.

And finally, some Leafs action once more! Hopefully this long break hasn't made them lazy, it's losing games against weak teams that cost them the playoffs last season, so they best have learned!

 

The Leafs didn't get much offense going tonight against Boston. Here's hoping they have some jump against Jersey Saturday night...

 

Yeah, the Leafs were completely sluggish and except for the last six minutes of the third period didn't even seem to be trying. Given that Boston wasn't much better it was one of the more boring games of hockey that I have watched recently. Oh well, at least the Leafs managed to get a point even though they didn't deserve it.

Just about the only entry in the Leaf's plus column was that Aubin looked pretty good except for his continuing weakness against shots banked off the boards behind the net - the Bruins scored one like that and almost got a second one and he has let in a couple more like that so far this year.

 

Tellqvist didn't look bad for the Leafs. Too bad the trap that New Jersey uses still lives in the "new NHL". The team needs to be able to maintain a sustained offensive pressure if they want to stay in the hunt until Sundin comes back. On the plus side, Buffalo also lost. It looks like the Sabres are indeed mortal, and when Sundin comes back, the Leafs could challenge Buffalo all season for top spot in the Division, if not the Conference!

 

@ Gnarf : No, they won't have top spot in the division nor the conference, because the habs will reign there! mouahahahahaha

No, seriously, Montréal is having a preety good season so far. Higgins' injury doesn't seem to be affecting the team at all (Latendresse is actually playing really well is his stead). The 3rd and 4th lines are giving a good effort. The problem remains with the Kovalev-Samsonov line. They seem to be sleeping most of the game. Kovalev always slows down plays. Whenever he gets a pass, he stops, instead of using his speed to confuse the Ds. Carbonneau is not known to be patient with people who don't work their ass off, so it'll be interesting to see what happens...

 

Triactus, They always say that your best players have to be your best players or you don't go over the top. If Samsonov and Kovalev don't get their act together, then Montreal will make the playoffs, but face a division leader, like Jersey or Buffalo. If the Russians on the team don't play with effort to maximize the return on their talent, then they get to the golf course early (but they're still likely a week and a half behind the Senators...) I have Montreal third in the division, about 6th or 7th in the conference and golfing after round 1.

That's what I like about the Leafs this year. Sundin, Tucker, Wellwood, Raycroft, Peca, Gill, Kaberle and McCabe are getting results (at least they were), then the supporting cast was putting them over the top (Kilger, Battaglia, White, Stajan, Steen, O'Neil, Pohl, Ponikarovsky and Antropov) and the extras (Belak, Suglobov, Bell, Harrison, Aubin, Ondruss) have been competent. If the Sabres' struggles continue, they'll find the Blue and White breathing down their neck.

 

It is pretty unusual to have five players tied for the team point lead this far into the season but that is the situation with the Leafs right now. Sundin's injury is largely to blame for him not being in the lead but Tucker, Sundin, Wellwood, Kaberle and McCabe all currently have 19 points.

It willl be interesting to see where Sundin will be put into the lineup when he returns. It would seem a shame to break up the Wellwood-Antropov-Ponikarovsky line that has been playing so well.

 

@ Gnarf : I totally agree, and therein lies the problem. When your best players are doing squat, you're definitly in a bad spot. The habs are really lucky that the first and third lines are playing so well, since it takes presure off the second line, but you have to wonder what will happen if you have a major injury in the first or third lines (like Koivu or Bonk out of play)

Like I said, Carbonneau is not a patient man. He already poked Samsonov, and it worked (for like a game or two). But it's now like it was before. He might try to exercise more drastic mesures, like making Samsonov or Kovalev healty scratches. If that doen't work, Maybe Gainey can try something like a trade... Personnaly, I don't see the two russians in Montréal by the playoffs if the situation stays like it is.

 

Perezhogin and Markov, that's two Russians...

I don't know that they could move Samsonov or Kovalev though...

I think Sundin, Tucker and O'Neil as a line, Tucker with Kilger and Battaglia and Stajan, Steen and Suglobov as four lines that Maurice can roll.

 

By "two russians", I meant those two russians, not all the russians of the team. But since we're on the subject, Perezhogin didn't play exactly like they wanted him to last year, but he seems to get better (only when he plays with Bonk and Johnson though).

However, Markov is a problem. Looked on as the future of the habs in defense, the way he played last year (and this season in particular) is well underneath what he's capable of. There's a lot of questions on his future in Mtl right now...

 

Okay. I see what you mean now. I think you're stuck with all four of them. Deals just don't seem to happen as frequently with the salary cap in place. Some teams that would be buyers haven't the cap space to buy, so the sellers are stuck with guys that they can't move unless they are willing to eat a contract on someone that really isn't working out to the value of his contract...

There's too many lose-lose scenarios out there to see a lot of blockbuster trades...

 

I fell asleep half way through the first period so I was a little disappointed to see that the Leafs lost 7-4. Then I looked close at the box score and saw that Buffalo managed to score two empty net goals so it really would have been a one goal loss so I guess it wasn't so bad.

Kaberle's pass to Tucker on the first goal was a real beauty. Wellwood's goal was quite impressive too - he can certainly control the puck well.

 

Yeah. I'm hearing that a lot of people are impressed with the way Wellwood works with the big Russians (Ponikarovsky and Antropov). They just might have that second line. O'Neil and Tucker would be a nice fit with Sundin on a first line, but they need to get the puck to Mats...

 

Naturally the good game that the Leafs played against the Capitals was on Leafs TV so I couldn't watch it while tonight's game in which the Leafs got creamed by Boston was on CBC so I was watching.

Sundin may have scored the Leafs goal but he really looked very shaky most of the game. Hopefully he will get back in the swing of things quickly - if he has a prolonged poist-injury slump like he did after the eye injury the Leafs are in trouble. All in all I would have to say that Sundin's return just served to play havoc with the Leaf's lines. Oh well, short term pain for long term gain I suppose.

 

The leafs do have a good group of forwards, but it's hard to keep 4 consistent lines together. When your best offensive player goes down, and the line he was on responds well to the adjustment made in his absence, what do you do? I had thought about Sundin, Tucker and O'Neil for a line, keep Wellwood between the big Russians (Although Ukraine and Kazakstan are now independent states, I think), Peca with Steen and Kilger, Stajan, Pohl and Battaglia, and roll all four lines...

 

That would have been reasonable - instead it seemed to me that Sundin was inserted into every line whenever Maurice felt like throwing him on the ice.