Ann 2Game 22 Review: Jose Theodore Shuts Out Canadiens In Capitals' 3-0 Win
November 30th 2008 22:57
It is truly maddening to follow a team like the Montreal Canadiens. One night they're playing like Eastern Conference winners, the next they can't even defeat an AHL team. That was the story of the game on Friday night as they put up another lackluster performance in the Washington Capitals' fortress.
Consider this. Four of the Capitals' six defensemen were call-ups from the AHL replacing the injured regulars. In front, the only threat they had was Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Yet, it was the Capitals who came out as the better team with three unanswered goals. The first goal came halfway through the first period when Francis Bouillon, posted behind his net, screwed up his pass to his winger. The puck found its way on Tomas Fleischmann's stick who essentially found himself in a 2-on-0 situation with Michael Nylander in support. The two players exchanged the puck, getting Halak out of position, before Fleischmann shot the puck in an empty net.
The second period was dominated by the Canadiens but they couldn't get past an exceptionally alert Jose Theodore. While his teammates were trying to equalize the mark, Jaroslav Halak did his best to keep them in the game, making a superb pad save on a 2-on-1 Capitals rush.
Unfortunately, it was the Caps who scored the second goal of the game when Alexander Ovechkin was left free to skate from the corner to Halak's net and managed to score in a difficult angle. Five minutes later, David Steckel scored his fourth of the season to give his team a comfortable lead. Although the period was only halfway done, the Canadiens completely folded up after that goal, as if they just wanted to get off the ice and go home. As a response, Guy Carbonneau scrambled up his lines but it only made matters worse. Tomas Plekanec and Alex Kovalev, who weren't great that night but not terrible either, completely stopped playing when they realized that Steve Begin was on their line. Saku Koivu fought admirably well, but you can't expect him to contribute when his two linemates (Higgins and Kostopoulos) wouldn't be able to score even if they had a gun to their heads. Furious with his team's continued nonchalance, Carbonneau himself gave up on the game by sending his fourth line on the powerplay. Now, everyone knows the fourth line is the hardest working in the Habs' line-up. The only reason they're that way is because they have nothing else to offer to the team. They're great on the penalty-kill, great to protect leads, but they sure as hell can't score. Granted, the Canadiens' powerplay doesn't work at all but that shouldn't be reason to send checkers do the job of playmakers/scorers. It was just an embarrassing sight to watch them on the powerplay, forechecking as if they were still playing 5-on-5. Even if the powerplay doesn't work, you never know what might happen. By sending his fourth line in this situation, Carbonneau did the same thing as the rest of his team, he accepted the loss.
On the other side, I have to commend Bruce Boudreau who smartly tried to put Ovechkin on the ice every time O'Byrne was playing in defense. The tactic seemed to really mess with the defender's head because he looked really stressed at times, as if he was expecting someone to sneak up on him and score. Finally, this game was sweet revenge for Theodore who was chased out of Montreal a couple of years ago. On his first game against his old team, he lost 8-5, so he was probably ecstatic with Friday's night shutout.
Consider this. Four of the Capitals' six defensemen were call-ups from the AHL replacing the injured regulars. In front, the only threat they had was Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Yet, it was the Capitals who came out as the better team with three unanswered goals. The first goal came halfway through the first period when Francis Bouillon, posted behind his net, screwed up his pass to his winger. The puck found its way on Tomas Fleischmann's stick who essentially found himself in a 2-on-0 situation with Michael Nylander in support. The two players exchanged the puck, getting Halak out of position, before Fleischmann shot the puck in an empty net.
The second period was dominated by the Canadiens but they couldn't get past an exceptionally alert Jose Theodore. While his teammates were trying to equalize the mark, Jaroslav Halak did his best to keep them in the game, making a superb pad save on a 2-on-1 Capitals rush.
Unfortunately, it was the Caps who scored the second goal of the game when Alexander Ovechkin was left free to skate from the corner to Halak's net and managed to score in a difficult angle. Five minutes later, David Steckel scored his fourth of the season to give his team a comfortable lead. Although the period was only halfway done, the Canadiens completely folded up after that goal, as if they just wanted to get off the ice and go home. As a response, Guy Carbonneau scrambled up his lines but it only made matters worse. Tomas Plekanec and Alex Kovalev, who weren't great that night but not terrible either, completely stopped playing when they realized that Steve Begin was on their line. Saku Koivu fought admirably well, but you can't expect him to contribute when his two linemates (Higgins and Kostopoulos) wouldn't be able to score even if they had a gun to their heads. Furious with his team's continued nonchalance, Carbonneau himself gave up on the game by sending his fourth line on the powerplay. Now, everyone knows the fourth line is the hardest working in the Habs' line-up. The only reason they're that way is because they have nothing else to offer to the team. They're great on the penalty-kill, great to protect leads, but they sure as hell can't score. Granted, the Canadiens' powerplay doesn't work at all but that shouldn't be reason to send checkers do the job of playmakers/scorers. It was just an embarrassing sight to watch them on the powerplay, forechecking as if they were still playing 5-on-5. Even if the powerplay doesn't work, you never know what might happen. By sending his fourth line in this situation, Carbonneau did the same thing as the rest of his team, he accepted the loss.
On the other side, I have to commend Bruce Boudreau who smartly tried to put Ovechkin on the ice every time O'Byrne was playing in defense. The tactic seemed to really mess with the defender's head because he looked really stressed at times, as if he was expecting someone to sneak up on him and score. Finally, this game was sweet revenge for Theodore who was chased out of Montreal a couple of years ago. On his first game against his old team, he lost 8-5, so he was probably ecstatic with Friday's night shutout.
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