Another update: Subban has made it according to Pierre LeBrun (11:04am) This just in from Habs practice: Alex Galchenyuk out for six weeks with a fracture in his hand.******* 10:51am.
"It's always nice when you pick a shot and it works. You know. Something that you see; you pick a spot and it goes in."--Brian Gionta
I was sitting in the press lounge with my peer and friend Brian Wilde before the game, talking about how if Brian Gionta scores, it's gotta be from the goalmouth. He'd proven the point with six goals on the year--well off his career pace--and so many missed or blocked shots. So, it was rather fitting that he ripped one top shelf to give the Canadiens a victory they deserved.
Tomas Plekanec joked afterwards that his best friend on the team was probably aiming five-hole, owing his goal to the fact that he missed where he was aiming for. That's the kind of healthy camaraderie we've seen between the two in snippets of 24CH, and the kind that keeps things light around the room.
I'm certain it's a lightness Gionta appreciates, having suffered through two miserable rehabs to bicep tendon tears. Gionta had a full year to recover from the first injury, hence his 14 goals over 48 games--a very respectable outcome for a player supposedly in decline. As he mentioned last night, he wasn't afforded the same luxury with injury number two, and his shot has been a work in progress ever since.
The captain's heroics aside, the team's true leader stepped up when it counted. As Michel Therrien labeled him, Carey Price was hockey's equivalent to baseball's closing pitcher in the third period of last night's game. The coach was pointing to Price's 'won't get scored on' brash, highlighting attributes that may one day lend well to a championship run.
With that, the Canadiens narrowly avoided another loss to the Florida Panthers. The Panthers, who boast two wins in three contests against the Habs, two wins in three contests over Detroit, and another couple of wins against the Senators and Leafs, having been handled relatively easily by the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins thus far.
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1) Congrats to Tomas Plekanec on his nomination as captain of Team Czech Republic. Quite the feat, considering the Czechs seem to have put together a team that's got a better chance of winning the 1998 Olympic tournament than the 2014 Winter Games.
Seriously, Petr Nedved (42) and Jiri Novotny, who couldn't stick on a bad Buffalo Sabres team from years back over Jiri Hudler and Radim Vrbata??
I'm surprised they didn't try to coax Dominik Hasek out of retirement for this one.
P.S. Did any of you see the highlights from Calgary's game last night, re: Hudler?
Plekanec couldn't suppress a smile in suggesting he wasn't surprised by Nedved's inclusion, and had to answer politically regarding the snub of two of the NHL's best Czech players, nevermind Ales Hemsky.
Oh... And Tomas Kaberle made the team. But Jan Hejda of the Colorado Avalanche? Who needs him to win the Nagano Olympics?
Seriously, if the Czechs win, it'll be the worst hockey that's ever been played at the Olympics.
2) Saku Koivu withdrew from the Finnish Olympic squad a few days ago, citing post-concussion symptoms. He told Finnish officials they'd be better served naming someone better prepared for the competition, proving he's the ultimate team-player.
After scoring a couple of goals in a final bid for Team Canada, I don't see Rick Nash doing the same...
Okay, that's not really fair. The age difference is remarkable. And no point in looking at a negative counter, let's just focus on how classy Koivu actually is.
If the Cup parade doesn't run through Montreal (odds are remarkably high that it doesn't), perhaps Koivu will get the championship that qualifies him as an NHL champion. We all know what he's done on the International scene, allowing him to wear that label proudly.
3) Everything Michel Therrien does is calculated. It might laugh in the face of logic, but it's a calculation on his behalf. People who know him best will tell you the same.
He was calculated in his treatment of Subban, in order to get the young stallion tamed to Therrien's preferred style.
He was calculated in his treatment of Daniel Briere.
He was calculated in his famous post-game rant about Pittsburgh, and their "softest d in the league".
I haven't the slightest clue what he's trying to prove regarding not pairing Subban and Markov. No clue if it's based on the two of them as he suggested to reporters at yesterday's morning skate, or if it's based on the other components of the blueline.
The separation continues with another win on Wednesday in Philadelphia. But if it goes the other way, maybe that'll be enough to end this experiment.
My man--mentioned for the second time in this blog--Wilde posted the numbers yesterday: "Habs had 14 games allowing 2 or less w\ Subban/Markov partnered. In last 7 apart, goals allowed 5/3/1/4/5/4/4 - 3.71 per game."
Maybe Therrien should work it out on the abacus instead of the calculator. It's that plain to see that the Canadiens need their best defensemen together, and playing more often than whoever the other four on the night will be.
4) At this point, there's not a single bone in my body telling me that Subban won't be on Team Canada. Where he plays will eventually be up to him, if Mike Babcock is the guy I think he is.
Team Canada starts with three preliminary games against Norway, Austria and Finland. Babcock may start with the roster he wants to complete the tournament, but he'd be a fool not to get every player named into the rotation for these three games. And Babcock is no fool!
I can't speak to what he'll do, but if I were in his shoes, I'd be dressing certain players I may have questions on for the game against Finland. It'll be the one true competition out of those three games, and I'd want to see how those questionable players handle the pressure of knowing they have to play their way into a role.
5) My team Canada is based on a mix of what I'd like to see and who I think will be named.
It is:
Kunitz-Crosby-Stamkos Tavares-Toews-Giroux Benn-Getzlaf-Perry Duchene-Bergeron-Sharp
Extras: Martin St. Louis, Jeff Carter
Weber-Doughty (they ended up paired up in 2010, so enough about Babcock and the righty-lefty thing, okay?. And, and, and...Weber's played the left side with Jones next to him for portions of this season) Keith-Subban Bouwmeester-Pietroangelo
Extra: Seabrook, Vlassic.
Price, Luongo, Smith.
If I had to guess, I'd say this is what the team will look like, and if I'm to pick out any changes to that, I'd say it'll be Couture and Nash in for Kunitz and Carter.
I've been through every possible selection. I think there's justification for any single player inevitably named. The only flaw I can truly see would be not bringing Subban--and like I said, there's not a single part of me that believes that to be a possibility.