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Top Line in Top Form,TC Round Up,Quotes,10 Questions

September 22, 2009, 10:28 AM ET [ Comments]
Habs Talk
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The contradiction of preseason hockey is the relevance we attribute to things we want to happen versus the irrelevance we attribute to things that don’t go as we thought they would.

For example, it seems highly relevant that Scott Gomez, Mike Cammalleri, and Brian Gionta have had successful training camps thus far. By contrast, we may not attribute very much relevance to the fact that Travis Moen has been largely invisible since his arrival, in Montreal.

Or it may seem crucial that Carey Price has yet to put up an outstanding performance, but no one seems too worried about Josh Gorges’ game not being quite at the level he established last season.

“It’s preseason…”

Checking into the Bell Centre last night at ten-past 7:00pm; it didn’t feel like preseason. It didn’t feel like preseason as I routinely strolled by legend Jean Beliveau on our way to the elevators that take us to the pressbox. It didn’t feel like preseason when the roster sheet was laden with star players on both sides. It didn’t feel like preseason when Price shut the door in the first period, nor when Malkin broke through and buried his first good chance of the game. It definitely didn’t feel like preseason when Montreal’s three big summer-acquisitions played out the third period together, combining for what turned out to be the winning goal. It wasn’t preseason when the powerplay was booed, or when Pittsbugh called a timeout late in the game to design a play that would possibly send the game into overtime.

And with 5 games in the books, and 19 cuts to the roster coming down yesterday, we begin to attribute relevance to everything. There are two games remaining in Jacques Martin’s first training camp with the Montreal Canadiens; a system is starting to protrude, bonds are forming chemistry, the rust is slowly shaking off, and a team is emerging.

Top 10 things that matter most from here to the end of camp:

1. Carey Price, looking hot in a game.

2. The powerplay looking like a powerplay-- and not a penalty kill.

3. Ryan O’Byrne continuing to prove he could possibly crack the top-6.

4. Speedy recoveries for Paul Mara (lower body), Roman Hamrlik (Strep throat), Max Pacioretty (upper body) and even Georges Laraque (lower body).

5. That Josh Gorges gets back to his regular self.

6. That Hal Gill doesn’t create more turnovers than he provokes.

7. That Guillaume Latendresse continues to bring physicality on a consistent basis.

8. That Matt D'Agostini and Sergei Kostitsyn show something that would give them an opportunity to fill in the top -2 lines on different occasions this year.

9. That Yannick Weber shows he can take the physicality of NHL hockey.

10. That Jacques Martin and Bob Gainey name the right guy to steer the ship in Montreal; to don the NHL’s most coveted “C”.

They said it, after the game:

Mike Cammalleri on early powerplay struggles:

“It’s one of those things…as camp goes on; especially with all the new guys. If you look at team like Pittsburgh, even in preseason --they’ve all played together. When they jump into a powerplay it’s kinda natural; they go where they wanna go, they know where each other want the puck. For us, not only are we trying to get to know each other, but we’re (separated into) two different teams, and we’re trying new formats out there. It’s going to take us a little bit of time, but I think we’ll refine it here in the next couple of games.”

Carey Price on how handling the puck more often gets him more focused on the game:

“I think it makes you more aware of what’s going on out there. When you get the puck you gotta know what to do with it before you get it, so I think it gets your head into the game a bit more.”

Brian Gionta on Max Pacioretty ‘s ability and his unfortunate injury in the third period:

“He’s a great young player. He’s got a lot of skill. He can shoot the puck and has a lot of upside. He’s still young and I don’t even know if he’s 20-years old yet, but he’s a young kid and he’s going to have a bright future in the league. Obviously, hopefully everything’s alright with him.”
********************
Ten questions:
1. Presuming Max Pacioretty is healthy to start the season, has he locked down a position in the top-6?
2. Has Matt D’Agostini impressed you so far?
3. Are you disappointed with P.K. Subban, or with the Canadiens for cutting P.K. Subban this early?
4. O’Byrne or Weber?
5. Can recently cut Eric Neilson fill in for Georges Laraque? Should he play over Gregory Stewart?
6. What do you expect from Andrei Kostitsyn, this season?
7. Should Cammalleri, Gomez, and Gionta play on the same line?
8. Will the Canadiens make a trade between now and October 1st?
9. How do you like Jaroslav Spacek so far?
10. Pick a captain from the following names, Gionta, Gomez, Cammalleri, and Markov.










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