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)
What is there to say that hasn’t already been said? Here’s a team that, on paper, and in terms of injuries, should no way no how be in a position to eliminate the defending Stanley Cup champions, this after taking down the best team in the regular season in 7 games as well!
Whatever happens, the Habs have caught lighting in a bottle and it’s been an amazing run.
But one thing sticks out: How so many of the Habs have really stepped it up to a level beyond what we thought possible, and how some “champions” have reverted to boy status. So here, on a slow day, is a totally subjective list of the MEN vs BOYS in this series:
THE REAL MEN
1. Hal Gill: Playing mucho-minutes, shaking off the early-season boos, and doing nothing less than holding down the two best players in the game. Yeah, Hal is MAN #1. If he pulled himself out of Game 6, it’s because the pain threshold was just too much. Which means it would be enough to make us mere mortals faint. And he’s a damn leader.
2. Mike Cammalleri / Brian Gionta: These pint size forwards are getting it done down in the corners, in the crease, and in front of the net. And no one has an answer for them yet.
3.Jordan Staal: Coming off a foot laceration? Are you kidding me?
"I don't hurt, I swear"
4. Josh Gorges: This guys bangs into the boards, into the corners, smacks into the goalpost, and he just shakes it off, over and over again. He’s the energizer bunny / indestructible pop up toy. Seriously – I think you would need to hang some garlic around your neck and drive a wooden stake into his heart for him to even realize what pain feels like. This guy is unbelievable.
5. Jaroslav Halak: He’s a “small” goalie, but he shakes off net crashers, team-wide doubt, Carey Price’s “Franchise” status, and the crazy pressure of never having played in the playoffs…what heart. WHAT A MAN.
6. Bill Guerin / Max Talbot / Chris Kunitz: They go about their business quietly, cleanly, with class and calm. All are banged up, Guerin more so, and they deserve the manly salute.
7. PK Subban: He was in Hamilton two weeks ago. He played 30 minutes last night. He also stuck to Crosby like glue, in the absence of Hal Gill in Game 6. Talk about stepping it up.
THE WEE BOYS
1. Sidney Crosby: Yeah, he’s a champ. He’s a national hero. And the face of the NHL. He also still lives with the team owner. Sorry, but at his age? He whines at every call. And that cross check against Pleky after the game? “It’s only Plekanec” says the champ. What a gutless dick.
"But I Wanna the Puck"
2. Sergei Kostitsyn: The whole team hates him now. What a pity.
3. Matt Cooke: Crosby without all the talent. Or charm. Or usefulness. Go away already.
And tomorrow night, we hope for the best in what will be a Game 7 classic for sure.
But no matter what happens, the MEN listed above, and so many more, have proved themselves worthy of their sweaters, and the adulation they’ve been getting from their hero-starved fans.
GO HABS GO!!!
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?
So the Habs have held the lead in the series 3 times as long as the Capitals. The goaltending has gone from suspect to otherworldly. The team as a group clearly never quits. The coaching has suddenly gotten more creative and has officially turned into a big edge in the series. Special teams has been incredible throughout. So who do YOU think is gonna win game 7? You might be surprised to hear what we have to say…
I was reading Boone today, trying to catch up on the latest Cammy news, when he noted that Rejean Trembay, long time hockey chroniqueur, had this to say on the subject in today’s La Presse. Here it is, in glorious and awful verbatim.
Mike Cammalleri va rater plusieurs semaines de jeu. Plusieurs commentateurs estiment que les Glorieux sont morts et enterrés à la suite de la blessure de Cammalleri. Je suis loin d’être aussi convaincu. Ils sont plusieurs dans la Ligue nationale qui disent, sous le manteau et à micro fermé, que Cammalleri est le joueur le moins généreux du Canadien. Dans le sens qu’il est préoccupé par une grande cause. La sienne.
For those who failed French Immersion, what Tremblay is saying is this: There are “whispers” among “people” in the National Hockey League, that Cammy is the least generous, most selfish player on the team. That what he cares about most is himself.
What’s this? A selfish millionaire athlete? STOP THE PRESSES!
And what proof does the estimable M. Tremblay offer to support such a claim, aside from Cammy being…a millionaire athlete?
Um, none.
He doesn’t reveal any sources, doesn’t have a single quote, nor does he pinpoint to any specific events or incidents. It’s just that, this is what people in the league are saying, check that… “whispering”. So Tremblay has got to spread it, right? But these are rumors that attack a man’s personal dignity and work ethic. It would be like me saying, without any evidence, that…oh I don’t know…Rejean Tremblay is a hack!
Now, I would NEVER say anything like that without any evidence.
But first – let’s look at what we DO KNOW, based on FACTS, about Cammy: He’s an undersized player who leads the Habs in goals with 26. If he doesn’t play another game with the team, he might still lead the Habs in goals come season’s end. He’s been a durable and valuable player with the Kings and Flames. He scored 39 goals last year. He got along well with both Jarome Iginla and Alex Frolov (!??!!) He doesn’t put up with any bullshit: In practice, he called out Josh Gorges and Max Lap when they were under-performing (in his opinion). He’s a stickler for details and gives 100% every night. When he doesn’t, he is the first one to pin the blame on himself. And he loves being a Hab.
We also know that Cammy is outspoken in his support for the Canadian Armed Forces. He donates time, money and tickets to soldiers and children in need.
—STAR—
So far, I don’t see anything selfish here.
Oh I know…maybe Tremblay thinks Cammy is being too selfish with his height – hoarding all that 5 foot 9 bone structure? Why couldn’t Cammy be more like Gionta, he of the 5 foot 7 frame? He knows his place, right?
Might Tremblay prefer if Cammy was more…elfish?
I also have a hunch that Cammy is going to do everything he can to get back to the Habs this season, even if it means delaying surgery (I don’t buy for a second that his knee, hanging like a string bean and bent back and forth after Saturday’s hit, doesn’t require some sort of operation). So again, he would be putting himself above the team here. But that’s just a hunch (see here, how I openly admit that my claim is unsubstantiated by such credible sources as “people” “whispering”? That’s called honesty – fessing up that I am totally talking out of my ass).
Back to Cammy: He might be rushing back to health.
Still selfish?
Now it’s true, Cammy has never met a camera he doesn’t like. He’s got a megawatt smile and close-up-ready hair. He also happens to give the best quotes on the team. Because he’s smart. And he knows it.
Because he is a STAR.
But selfish?
I don’t know. I do know that Cammy is a Jewish-Italian anglophone who hails from (gasp!) TORONTO. None of those qualities quite hit the mark, or endear themselves to Tremblay, when it come to playing for teams in la belle province.
But far be it for me to make any sweeping accusations, like home-town favoritism, without any proof.
Or proof.
Or Proof.
Damn, if only Cammy could be Finnish, like that Koivu guy.
What? Oh. Never mind.
—HACK—
Je suis loin d’être aussi convaincu. Ils sont plusieurs dans la Ligue nationale qui disent, sous le manteau et à micro fermé, que Cammalleri est le joueur le moins généreux du Canadien. Dans le sens qu’il est préoccupé par une grande cause. La sienne.
