Ann 2Game 57 Review: Canadiens Back To Square One After 4-2 Defeat Against Canucks
February 21st 2009 05:18
The Montreal Canadiens' desperate win last Friday was only a cloud of smoke to hide the fatal flaws of this struggling team. Indeed, two nights later, Jaroslav Halak was unable to stand on his head for a consecutive game, and the Canadiens' mistakes were made glaringly obvious to even the most casual observer.
First, the Canadiens were simply awful defensively. Not only were the Canucks simply allowed to waltz in their visitors' zone without so much of a shove, but the Habs kept giving them presents with every attacking rush. Indeed, the visitors seemed to have completely forgotten that if there's too many players going deep, there's the risk of an odd-man rush at the other end. On Sunday, it felt like every single attack from the Canadiens turned into a counterattack for the Canucks with an extra-man. If it wasn't for Halak, the home side could have been leading 3-0 only ten minutes into the game. Thanks to some great work by the netminder, both teams retreated to their locker-room with a score of 2-1 Canucks at the first intermission.
Despite still being in the game, the Canadiens worsened their situation with lazy and badly-timed line changes in the second period. I couldn't count the number of times when a Canuck puck was in the neutral zone going full speed at the other end with the puck in his possession, and the Habs players would go to the bench at that exact moment. It almost felt like they did it on purpose. Vancouver ended up taking a 4-1 lead, and Andrei Kostitsyn made it respectable by scoring his 20th goal of the season late in the third period.
Not only were the Habs terrible defensively, but the Canucks – one of the most penalized team in the NHL – took no penalties. And here I'm not talking about that game in Carolina where the Habs were given 11 penalties while the Hurricanes only had two despite a couple of infractions here and there. No, this time, the Canucks didn't even have to force themselves because the Canadiens were simply lazy, disinterested and listless. No energy, no heart, no passion. And that brings everyone back to square one.
My 3 Stars:
3. Alexandre Burrows
2. Henrik Sedin
1. Daniel Sedin
First, the Canadiens were simply awful defensively. Not only were the Canucks simply allowed to waltz in their visitors' zone without so much of a shove, but the Habs kept giving them presents with every attacking rush. Indeed, the visitors seemed to have completely forgotten that if there's too many players going deep, there's the risk of an odd-man rush at the other end. On Sunday, it felt like every single attack from the Canadiens turned into a counterattack for the Canucks with an extra-man. If it wasn't for Halak, the home side could have been leading 3-0 only ten minutes into the game. Thanks to some great work by the netminder, both teams retreated to their locker-room with a score of 2-1 Canucks at the first intermission.
Despite still being in the game, the Canadiens worsened their situation with lazy and badly-timed line changes in the second period. I couldn't count the number of times when a Canuck puck was in the neutral zone going full speed at the other end with the puck in his possession, and the Habs players would go to the bench at that exact moment. It almost felt like they did it on purpose. Vancouver ended up taking a 4-1 lead, and Andrei Kostitsyn made it respectable by scoring his 20th goal of the season late in the third period.
Not only were the Habs terrible defensively, but the Canucks – one of the most penalized team in the NHL – took no penalties. And here I'm not talking about that game in Carolina where the Habs were given 11 penalties while the Hurricanes only had two despite a couple of infractions here and there. No, this time, the Canucks didn't even have to force themselves because the Canadiens were simply lazy, disinterested and listless. No energy, no heart, no passion. And that brings everyone back to square one.
My 3 Stars:
3. Alexandre Burrows
2. Henrik Sedin
1. Daniel Sedin
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