Ann 2Game 10 Review: Amazing Comeback Gives Canadiens 5-4 Win Over Islanders (Highlights Video Included)
November 3rd 2008 03:50
I am speechless. Last night, after 40 minutes of play, the New York Islanders currently the worst team in the NHL were leading the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. I was already anticipating a defeat, going as far as thinking about my headline for today's post which would've been Islanders Humiliate Canadiens In (insert final scoreline) Rout. Fortunately, the Habs finally started to play in the third, scoring four unanswered goals in the span of 7:31 minutes to get their eighth win of the season.
When Alex Kovalev opened the score after just three minutes of play, the hundreds of Canadiens fans who had invaded the Nassau Coliseum were probably anticipating an easy win like last year's 4-1 (twice), 3-1, and 3-0 victories. But thirty seconds after Kovy's goal, Andrei Markov picked up a penalty for holding, and the Islanders scored on the ensuing powerplay when ex-Canadien Mark Streit's shot deflected of Christopher Higgins skate. After that, there was nothing positive to take out of the Habs' performance in the two periods. They were simply not playing. Forecheck was inexistant, backcheck was almost the same, faceoffs were dreadful, passes were soft, lazy, and quickly intercepted. Even Carey Price, who usually keeps his team in the game until they get going, gave up two soft goals to the home side. Simply put, nothing was working. On the other side, the Islanders were excellent three-man forecheck, five-man backcheck, tight marking in the neutral zone, and most importantly, scoring on almost every opportunity they were simply on fire. And then the Habs came back to life.
Guy Carbonneau probably gave an earful to his team during the second intermission, but they still weren't quite there until Carbo started punishing guys by taking them out of the powerplay rotation (the Habs got two powerplays in the beginning of the third), namely the Kostitsyns. It had some effect on the players but the real catalyst happened when Mark Streit's stick hit Kovalev in the face, giving the Russian a small cut under the eye. The move wasn't penalized but 'The Wizard' saw red. A couple of minutes after the incident, he picked up the puck in the offensive, skated around a bit while looking for a shooting lane, fired off a shot that Danis couldn't keep in his glove, and Plekanec cashed in the rebound, putting the score at 4-2. Scott Gordon immediately called a timeout but uncertainty was making its way into his players' mind. Plekanec scored second of the night a couple of minutes later after some brilliant play from Andrei Kostitsyn who turned on the afterburners for the first time since his return from a concussion. Then, Higgins scored his first of the season after Koivu's pass from behind the net found its way to his stick. Finally, Kovalev got the game-winner one minute later, book-ending the Canadiens' goals (he scored the first and the last). Throughout all this action, the Islanders had only one shot on goal. They got three more in the final minutes of the third as their goaltender was sacrificed for a sixth skater, but Price stood tall. Nothing would go past him at this point.
The comeback might be great for all those who were watching the game, but the Canadiens' tendency to play one period out of three is not a good thing for the long term. They still haven't put one consistent performance since the beginning of the season (they worked hard against the Wild, but that's only because they spent almost an entire period killing penalties which usually is a sign of indiscipline), and that is worrisome because they haven't faced teams like the Devils or the Penguins yet. The good news is that the Plekanec line is finally back in action, the three players getting a combined nine points in this game. Together, they had eleven points in the last nine games. Markov picked up two more assists, putting his points total at 13 so far this season. Finally, Steve Begin and Georges Laraque were inserted in the line-up in place of Mathieu Dandenault and Tom Kostopoulos. It's probably the first time that I haven't seen Begin come up with an intense performance. He didn't seem to be there at all (but then no one on the team was there during the first 40 minutes). Laraque was completely useless. He got into a fight, and I'm still not sure who won. All this to say that I hope Dandenault and Kostopoulos will be back next Friday, and that the Plekanec line reclaims its number one status once and for all.
My 3 Stars:
3. Frans Nielsen
2. Alex Kovalev
1. Tomas Plekanec
When Alex Kovalev opened the score after just three minutes of play, the hundreds of Canadiens fans who had invaded the Nassau Coliseum were probably anticipating an easy win like last year's 4-1 (twice), 3-1, and 3-0 victories. But thirty seconds after Kovy's goal, Andrei Markov picked up a penalty for holding, and the Islanders scored on the ensuing powerplay when ex-Canadien Mark Streit's shot deflected of Christopher Higgins skate. After that, there was nothing positive to take out of the Habs' performance in the two periods. They were simply not playing. Forecheck was inexistant, backcheck was almost the same, faceoffs were dreadful, passes were soft, lazy, and quickly intercepted. Even Carey Price, who usually keeps his team in the game until they get going, gave up two soft goals to the home side. Simply put, nothing was working. On the other side, the Islanders were excellent three-man forecheck, five-man backcheck, tight marking in the neutral zone, and most importantly, scoring on almost every opportunity they were simply on fire. And then the Habs came back to life.
Guy Carbonneau probably gave an earful to his team during the second intermission, but they still weren't quite there until Carbo started punishing guys by taking them out of the powerplay rotation (the Habs got two powerplays in the beginning of the third), namely the Kostitsyns. It had some effect on the players but the real catalyst happened when Mark Streit's stick hit Kovalev in the face, giving the Russian a small cut under the eye. The move wasn't penalized but 'The Wizard' saw red. A couple of minutes after the incident, he picked up the puck in the offensive, skated around a bit while looking for a shooting lane, fired off a shot that Danis couldn't keep in his glove, and Plekanec cashed in the rebound, putting the score at 4-2. Scott Gordon immediately called a timeout but uncertainty was making its way into his players' mind. Plekanec scored second of the night a couple of minutes later after some brilliant play from Andrei Kostitsyn who turned on the afterburners for the first time since his return from a concussion. Then, Higgins scored his first of the season after Koivu's pass from behind the net found its way to his stick. Finally, Kovalev got the game-winner one minute later, book-ending the Canadiens' goals (he scored the first and the last). Throughout all this action, the Islanders had only one shot on goal. They got three more in the final minutes of the third as their goaltender was sacrificed for a sixth skater, but Price stood tall. Nothing would go past him at this point.
The comeback might be great for all those who were watching the game, but the Canadiens' tendency to play one period out of three is not a good thing for the long term. They still haven't put one consistent performance since the beginning of the season (they worked hard against the Wild, but that's only because they spent almost an entire period killing penalties which usually is a sign of indiscipline), and that is worrisome because they haven't faced teams like the Devils or the Penguins yet. The good news is that the Plekanec line is finally back in action, the three players getting a combined nine points in this game. Together, they had eleven points in the last nine games. Markov picked up two more assists, putting his points total at 13 so far this season. Finally, Steve Begin and Georges Laraque were inserted in the line-up in place of Mathieu Dandenault and Tom Kostopoulos. It's probably the first time that I haven't seen Begin come up with an intense performance. He didn't seem to be there at all (but then no one on the team was there during the first 40 minutes). Laraque was completely useless. He got into a fight, and I'm still not sure who won. All this to say that I hope Dandenault and Kostopoulos will be back next Friday, and that the Plekanec line reclaims its number one status once and for all.
My 3 Stars:
3. Frans Nielsen
2. Alex Kovalev
1. Tomas Plekanec
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