Carbo rewards Lapierre's solid play
Below are some excerpts from the Gazette game review by Pat Hickey ( Price bottles Lightning in shootout) about the Habs 2-1 shootout victory over the the Lightning:
This was a night for defences to shine and Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau, who is hoping to make defence a priority this season, said: "This is the best game I've coached. It had a little bit of everything. Good defence, extraordinary goaltending, good penalty-killing. I hope the fans enjoyed it."
Later in Hickey's article:
Alex Kovalev and Maxim Lapierre both scored on Montreal's first two shots in the shootout. Jussi Jokinen opened the shootout with a goal but Price stopped Vaclav Prospal and Lecavalier for the win.
"I decided to use Max because he has been playing well," said Carbonneau. "In a way, it was a hunch but he scored three goals last night (in Florida) so it was a bit of a reward as well."
Carbonneau said he had no immediate word on Tanguay's condition but, if he can't play Friday when the Canadiens travel to New Jersey (7 p.m., RDS, CJAD Radio-800), Montreal will have to recall a forward from Hamilton. The only extra body on the current roster is defenceman Ryan O'Byrne.
Habster:
The Alex Tanguay injury certainly puts a sour footnote on the Canadiens 2-1 win. Granted, Tanguay wasn't exactly lighting up the lamp lately (two goals in his last 15 games) after a strong start to the season. He did have 9 points in his last 10 games (G-2 A-7) but hasn't had that jump in his skating stride which we are use to seeing throughout his NHL career.
Regardless, his presence will be missed in the lineup but it will give players like Max Pacioretty and Kyle Chipchura the opportunity to show what they can do at the NHL level. I wouldn't be surprised if Bob Gainey decides to demote Ryan O'Byrne and call-up Yannick Weber who has been on a roll of late with 7 points in 7 games (GP- 7 G-3 A-4 +3 SOG-24). O'Byrne needs to play to re-gain his confidence and further develop his game, something he isn't doing in the press box the last few games.
Maxim Lapierre and Guillaume Latendresse have impressively brought their games to another level. It is refreshing to see the chemistry they have along with Tom Kostopoulos and as I've said many times before, Gui will be a very solid third line player and he's starting to prove me right!!! When Latendresse plays with hard working, blue collar type players like Lapierre and Kostopoulos, he thrives and follows their lead. When he is placed along side more skilled players like Koivu or Plekanec, he tends to be looking for the set-up pass and floats more.
Carbo, players moving in the same direction
Unlike one of my co-bloggers (wink-wink), I think overall Guy Carbonneau has done a decent job with the Canadiens. When you consider the number of injuries the Habs have had this season compared to last year, he has done a goood job plugging the gaps.
There are still some things that rub me the wrong way about the Habs head coach:
- Have there been games where the team didn't appear well prepared?.........Yes!
- Does Carbo's constant line juggling frustrate the players and fans alike?........Yes!!
- Does Carbo's somewhat questionable communication skills with his player bother you?........Yes!!!
- Carbo tends to throw out odd comments like: "This is the best game I've coached".............did he watch the 3-1 win over the Red Wings or the 5-2 win over the Flyers or the 4-1 victory over the Flames!!! Guy, we're talking about the Tampa Bay Lightning here, not higher quality teams mentioned above!!!
Now with that being said, Carbonneau appears to have resolved the first two questions. He has finally settled on his line combinations and it's not a coincidence that the team has started to put a few wins together with some solid chemistry.........too bad it took a third of the season to figure this out.
The coaching staff and the players have also come full circle with a system of play with everybody moving in the same direction.
In conclusion, the players and coaches are doing a good job so let's give them some kudos when they deserve it.
2 comments:
Lapierre and Latendresse are pillars of the team going forward. They get extra scrutiny from the fan base by virtue of their Francophone heritage, but regardless of ancestry or background, both are solid hockey players and solid citizens. Along with Alex Tanguay, they represent the historical French Canadian character of the team as well as could be hoped for at the current time.
The only other French Canadian player who I would like the Habs to try to repatriate would be Derrik Brassard, but he seems to have trouble staying healthy plying his style at 180 pounds or whatever he is. I was glad that Briere turned the team down, and I've never been a fan of Lecavalier. Simon Gagne seems like an older, more expensive version of Brassard. Antoine Vermette might be another possibility, but he isn't outstanding, and seems set in Ottawa.
The Canadiens are in huge trouble if 3rd or 4th line players are considered "pillars of the team going forward".
Pillars of this team going forward are players like Carey Price and Mike Komisarek.
I don't understand the focus on ethnic origin. The tradition and heritage of the Montreal Canadiens is WINNING...pure and simple. And that means putting the best players in the line-up no matter where they come from.
Do the Leafs insist on putting together a team only from Ontario?...the Flames, players from Alberta?...the Coyotes, players from Arizona?
Fans and media who believe that the Canadiens must be led by francophones are stuck in the mentality of the 1960's and prior.
'That' NHL hasn't existed for many decades. It is an international game now, and the team's best players can come from anywhere.
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