Habs are through, just as we all expected, right? Sure. You think Gary Bettman is happy about this? How about NBC? The Habs have given new meaning to the term “refuse to lose” and the entire city is LOVING it. We try to pinpoint what it is that makes this team do the impossible, whether it will continue all the way to the cup, and how all of this might affect next year. Oh, and we go a little nuts.
HABS WIN! HABS WIN! HABS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Dave Sandford/Getty Images)
This is just plain fun. Somehow, some way, this team has taken Montreal by complete surprise and absolutely captured the imagination of the entire hockey world. It seems no matter what they face, they find the way to bounce back from it. Heart epitomized. But now with both Markov and Spacek out, facing the Staal-less Pittsburgh Penguins, they’re up against an arguably bigger challenge than even the Washington Capitals. Can they really keep it going?
For our first official Playoff Podcast, we turn up the intensity a few notches and are pretty much at each other’s throats for most of the show. You gotta hear it to believe it. Somehow amidst the fire, we manage to delve into how the Habs lost control of the series so suddenly, who starts in nets for game 4, and who starts on D: O’Byrne, Bergeron, or … Subban?
This one’s a can’t miss if we’ve ever had one…
We here at Habsradio.com, (well, I. Eric is still asleep in Vegas), have often derided the Habs defense as old and slow. I’ve pointed the finger sometimes at Roman Hamrlik, sometimes at Hal Gill, sometimes at Paul Mara, but most often, at Jaroslav Spacek. But Eric Engels has a great post today in which he makes the case for the humpty-dumpty lookalike. So in the interests of self-criticism, let’s discuss Engels’ argument. Here are the juicy bits:
…for 35 games, with Andrei Markov on the sidelines, Spacek was Montreal’s second most-used defenseman, just seconds behind Roman Hamrlik.
Spacek has played against his opponents’ best players, night-in, night-out, and though he hasn’t provided the kind of offense fans expected from him, you have to be impressed with his +10 rating.
He’s also been used on his wrong side throughout the year, and given Hamrlik’s ability to join the rush, he’s been relegated to covering up as opposed to joining the rush himself. His versatility at both ends, as well as his ability to contribute on the powerplay and penalty kill has made him a very valuable asset to the Canadiens. Not to mention the fact that he has the heart of a lion.
Engels is right. All things being equal, Spacek is getting an unfair bad rap. But the fact remains, Spacek is a little old and slow for the minutes he’s getting. Is that his fault exactly? No. But between him, Hamrlik and Gill, speedy forwards could have a field day. Though they have all done good work this season, my real gripe with the new free agent defensemen is that they were signed at a time when other options (cheaper or younger) were available – and none of them are the physical, mobile, shut down defenseman the Habs so badly need.
I guess I have been toughest on Spacek because of his contract. He commands 3.8 million for the next 3 seasons. Francois Beauchemin, for example, is 5 years younger, a lot tougher, and supplies just as much offense, if not more. And chances are he would have provided the Habs with a home-town discount. Because as hard as Spacek works, and he does work hard, and as many minutes as he plays, not a single opposing forward comes into the Bell Center saying “Damn, I’m really not looking forward to playing Spacek again tonight”. Can you imagine Beauchemin banging bodies on a pairing with Hamrlik? Dude is the very definition of sandpaper. Spacek? Not so much. And the fact that Bob Gainey / Pierre Gauthier signed Spacek to such a big money, three-year deal when no other offer for him was even close – that just hamstrings their salary cap flexibility even more.
So I can’t disagree with anything Engels said on his blog. So here is my mea culpa: I recognize that Spacek is a good defenceman. And he does not deserve to pay the consequences of Habs mismanagement. Nor can he be expected to be the type of player he is not.
But I still believe better options were / are available, and come season’s end, Pierre Gauthier will have to look at trading one or all of Hamrlik / Spacek / Gill because of their age and salary.
Fair enough?
Habs beat New Jersey! 3-1! In New Jersey!
What?
How did that happen?
* Great and SUSTAINED forechecking, greatly assisted by…
* Hamrlik, Markov and Spacek joining the rush. I was surprised by this, seeing how conservative Coach likes to play things, but those three were VERY aggressive in New Jersey’s zone, setting up passes, getting to the net and almost acting like a 4th forward. And they skated back HARD at the first sign of trouble. Whatever mistakes they did make (and there were a few), were committed in their own end.
* Gomez played what seemed like 56 minutes, and boy was he on mission.
* Halak returned with a solid start, making lightening-quick saves when a Devil was left open in front (though this win was a total team effort, everyone credited Halak with the win – interesting, no?)
Les Boys deserved this one. And for a change, coach’s ad-nauseam mantra of pock possession was on full display.
Not a perfect game, but pretty darn close.
