They started the season miserably as evidenced by their 851 PDO and have slowly chipped away at it to get it back to the expected 1000. In fact, after the Pittsburgh game they’re actually above 1000 PDO for the first time this season. Their goal tending has gotten better also (it couldn’t have gotten much worse than the beginning of the season), though it’s still a bit below average, which suggests to me that they’re being carried by higher than expected scoring rates.
A quick look at shooting percentages for the team shows 11 guys in double digit S% (the League average is about 9.1%), and pretty much every one of them is shooting unsustainably way above their career averages (Alfredsson is about on target and Spezza is actually shooting below his expected rate), so unless Konopka can keep up a 14.3 S% or guys like Winchester and Turris can pick up their rates, if the goal tending remains what it is the Sens are probably due for a regression as their offense falls off.
As much as it pains me to say it, Pittsburgh, on the other hand, will start getting better results. They’re too good a possession and shot producing machine not to. Their injuries to forwards and some bad luck have hurt their offense, and that combined with losing Letang has exposed their defense and goal tending a bit… but I’m pretty confident they’ll turn it around soon. As a fan of a rival, I hope it’s later rather than sooner.
They’re riding high on Erik Karlsson for one, who’s having a beast of a season. I think a lot of it has to do with the new coaching. The parts of that game I watched when I wasn’t playing squash, I caught myself lauding the defensive play of Sergei Gonchar and Filip Kuba. Never in a THOUSAND YEARS would I thought I have said that after last year’s play. I think Paul MacLean is a marked improvement over Cory Clouston, even though I thought Clouston did a good job with this group.
I think Cowen and Turris stand to get better, Mark Stone and Mika Zibanejad are making the future exciting for this team. Being in fifth may be unsustainable, but it’s great fun to watch. MY ONLY SERIOUS CONCERN is treating this team like a cup contender; trading picks for Andy Sutton and Matt Cullen was a boneheaded move two years back, so I don’t want that to happen again this time around if we’re making the post-season.
And this season gets better and better. Brian Gionta is out indefinitely following surgery on a torn biceps muscle.
So, that puts Gionta, Gomez, Markov and White on IR; the first three players are arguably players the team was built around, and White is young but expected to crash and bang on the fourth line all season.
Injuries are only part of the crap season this team is having, but you gotta admit it’s a pretty significant part. Inexperienced D, young forwards, struggling veterans (interestingly, Gill, Cammalleri and Plekanecs are all struggling - they are also all dads to newborns). There’s talent on this team, but I don’t think the pieces have been fit together properly and they haven’t been used correctly. The cupboard is bare in Hamilton (having graduated several players to the Bigs over the past 2 years to fill in for injuries) and I don’t know where this team is going to go from here.
sigh
Oh, and it turns out that the tickets my brother gave me were for a March game, not January (my brother is an idiot hehe) - I love the game and I love this team, but I don’t know what the atmosphere will be like by the time we get there!
Mike Cammalleri did not play the third period and was sent to the hotel, while the rest of the team is going to the airplane to come back to Montreal…he’s been traded in trade that’s been in the works for a couple days…who for?
//tension//
Habs couldn’t buy a bounce to save their lives, but at least they made a game of it. This is the one team that seems to give the Bruins fits. A team that could score would give the Bruins a run for their money in a series!
Oh, I hope you’re right – although it had better be sooner. We’re too good of a team not to. I love my team, win or lose, but this is depressing.
However as I keep saying, I’d rather Crosby take a wee bit longer than he needs, even if it means missing the playoffs. Losing one season is better, if it means we can have him in the long term.
Cammalleri, Karri Ramo and a fifth round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft to the Calgary Flames for forwards Rene Bourque, Patrick Holland and a second round pick.
ISTR that Ramo is perfectly happy in the KHL and isn’t too inclined to come to the NHL. The draft pick trades are good. I don’t know who Holland is other than he plays for the Tri-City Americans; a throw-in to help the 'Dogs, possibly a future NHL player, I guess.
Cammalleri hasn’t seemed happy since sometime last season, and he’s been a floating prima-donna all season. Bourque was apparently in a similar situation - unhappy in Calgary and not having a great season (though still more points on the boards this year). This trade frees up nearly 3 million dollars on the salary cap and moves a player that doesn’t act like he wants to be here.
I’m thinking it’s a wash, player-wise, but a win attitude wise.
I’m also thinking this isn’t the last trade Montreal will do.
As for doing so during the game…that does seem weird and I’m not too happy about doing it that way, though I’ve heard the reasoning that it was to ensure no freak injuries that might kill the trade. Don’t know how much weight that has.
And the Canucks beat St. Louis to complete a difficult 4 game in 6 day road trip.
I think it is bad form to pull a guy out mid-game like they did with Cammalleri. I mean, wait until its over or figure it out beforehand. Disrespectful, these are lavishly paid people, not meat.
It could only have been better if they had been playing Calgary at the time. Guy goes to the bench for a change and comes back out playing for the other team. Or maybe rips the Canadiens jersey off as he comes down the ice to reveal a Flames jersey underneath.
Edit - yeah I know you can’t change roster mid-game, but it would be entertaining.
And they shut out the Rangers tonight. Anderson stood on his head. They were outshot 34-24 but the puck just won’t go into their net, and always find a way into the other.
It seems to be a different hero every night, aside from Karlsson always being great.
That said it wouldn’t take a HUGE collapse; it’s easy to overlook just how little room separates teams, especially with the ridiculous “lose a game, get a point anyway” rule.
Didn’t that happen when Crosby scored earlier this season? For the cat’s sake I hope the Pens are shutout the rest of the season. Has nothing to do with me being a Caps fan.
Yay! A win! Good night for the Cole, Pacioretty, Desharnais line who scored three of the four goals. I’m torn between laughing at, being mad at or taking pity on poor butthurt Tortorella for referring to them as “the fourth line.” Classic Torts but still, fuck you, man
I only caught the end of last night’s Sens-Habs game, which at least the Habs manage to lose in overtime instead of regulation time for a change.
My parent’s neighbours had a family emergency to attend to, so their 6.5 year old son was being watched by my parents overnight. He’s a Sens fan (with the Habs as a #2 team) and was so happy about the Sens win that I couldn’t feel too bad about it. It distracted him from the confusion of what was going on (everything’s fine, but still needed overnight medical attention to take care of).
Today, the kid wanted to play hockey, but since it was -30C with the windchill we didn’t really want to play outside. So my husband and mom brought him to the Dollar Store and bought some plastic mini-sticks (about 1 metre long). We played floor hockey in the basement for over an hour, until his mom came home to get him. He didn’t want to leave! It was so much fun (though my knees are bruised since I played ‘goalie’). He’s a good kid and I can’t wait to play hockey with him again! He gave me the biggest hug goodbye!
