Cindy’s 2010 Hockey Blog
Part 1: How the Canadiens Pussied into the Playoffs
It could be a sweet victory or a sticky situation
Saturday night: sitting in a bar downtown yelling at a TV. Out of all the bars in the heart of Montreal, I choose the one with all the Leaf fans. My beer is warm, will be pissed if Toronto wins, they are possibly the worst winners I’ve ever encountered. It’s overtime, all we need is to get a point to qualify for the post season. One stupid point.
If you were to talk to me a week before about how the 2009-10 Montreal Canadiens would fare in the post season, there would have been some optimism. They were riding on a high since the Olympic break, winning 6 in a row and beating teams that had better records. We were looking like we could finish 6th in the conference and would go against Buffalo (who Jaroslav Halak had shut out that night).
But then the losing returned, teams such as the Islanders, Hurricanes and of course, the Toronto Maple Leafs would become our weakness, we are suckers for sub par teams with no chance at a playoff spot. These teams are bottom feeders and are able to suck the life out of the Habs.
And that is exactly what Toronto did in overtime, not even a minute into it, Dion Phaneuf has become a new nemesis in my books.
F**king Leafs.
Well, we might as well give them that, it’s the only time they will celebrate, unless Canada wins another gold at the Olympics. The one time there will ever be hockey celebrations on Queen St.
I’ve been a Montreal Canadiens fan since 1992, I’ve seen some good, semi good, horrible and “what the hell” like teams. The way we got into the playoffs was possibly the most pathetic I’ve seen ever. All we needed was one point, one stupid point and we had to go through drama.
That one point was the equivalent to finishing off your University career with your last mark being a D-: it’s a pass but it’s a sad way to leave. Now we’re going into the post season in 8th place, which means we play the Washington Capitals. Which means Alexander Ovechkin, top scorer/dirty player will get medieval on our sub par team.
Or so we think…
Yes, I am hard on this team, with good reason. Let me sum up my Habs in a nutshell: always prospectful to do well until the injury bug hits hard. We are small (actual fact: I’m taller than Brian Gionta) and we don’t have any real scoring. Defence is relied on Andrei Markov who we lost in the 1st game of the season and miraculously had to heal to save a young inexperienced defence.
The same goes with Andrei Kostistyn and Mike Cammalleri, not playing at their best as they needed to rush back into the lineup. The saving grace is in nets, when Carey Price is not being a redneck in the city (ooh, beer and hookers) then Carey Price can be in the likes or Dryden and Roy. When he’s off, it’s red light Racicot again. He does make the fans nervous…
or annoying.
Halak has proven himself to be a starter, even for any team in the NHL. In the meantime, he’s stuck here knowing that his best chances of ever contending for the Cup is with another team. He proven himself back in the Olympics, was solid in the upset VS Russia and was a goal away from a medal. He will be carrying this team to the postseason, problem is: which team will show up?
The one who has a 2-1-1 record VS Washington (and who like to knock out teams such as the likes of the Capitals and the Penguins) or the one who pussied this past week. Who knows, it’s hard to cheer for sub par, mediocre hockey.
However, the rules change come the post season. It’s a clean slate, we can forget that the Habs couldn’t get the one point or that we have the worst penalty kill. At least Ryan O’Byrne didn’t score in his own net this time, or Sergei Kostistyn learned his lesson about not going too nuts about fast cars and big tits when he had the stint in Hamilton.
That getting rid of Ladendresse was the best thing to happen to his career (he scored 30 goals in Minnesota) as if he stayed here he would be nothing but a ton of bricks on skates. Coach Martin is no Carbo or Gainey but we are still curious in why the hell we got him as a coach. He did coach Ottawa, then again, it’s Ottawa.
Plekanec is the one consistent player this past season, he’s coming off of some career numbers (which can be great for a bigger contract or a better offer with another team in the off season).
Ah, maybe they can pull off the upset of the year, I mean, Washington is on the redeem. Ovechkin is getting tired of losing hardware to Sidney Crosby, let’s see: Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, teeth. He and Alex Semin put up some great numbers, Mike Green and his potential Norris trophy can put the weak in Markov (think this might be the match up to watch for). Washington’s big weak is in the pipes, it’s the return of Jose Theodore (he used to play for us during the sub par years, pretty good until the biker gang fiasco and his hair falling out, it’s a long story).
But it would be sweet if we can beat them, could take the bitterness of out of watching this past season. Who knows.
Prediction: Washington in 6 (there could be a fight for it but it’s Washington for Christ’s sake).
By the way, if anyone wants to help me find a better name for this blog, do fire me a line here.
