HabsWorld.net --
The bad luck out West continued for yet another
season as the Habs went 0 for Western Canada this past week, dropping to 2-3 on
the season. On a happier note, the Bulldogs won their home opener with
newly signed Marc-Andre Bergeron in the lineup. Bergeron is the focus of a
new segment this week, while the Final Thought looks at the public outcry that
has started far too early.
This, plus the power rankings, in the Recap.
|
Power |
The PPR’s are on a cumulative basis with
added bias towards the current week. For example, if say Scott Gomez has
an awful week, he won’t drop 15 spots in the rankings, but he will drop 3 or 4.
Rk |
Player |
LW |
Comments |
1 |
Brian Gionta | 2 | When the Habs needed a spark, he was the one who brought it. |
| 2 | Carey Price | 1 | Hung out to dry for the most part, can’t fault him for either loss. |
3 |
Tomas Plekanec | 5 | The only real consistent scoring threat beyond the "big three." |
| 4 | Mike Cammalleri | 3 | At least he’s setting up goals, but needs to pop one himself soon. |
5 |
Scott Gomez | 9 | Much improved over last week, you could always tell when he was out. |
| 6 | Travis Moen | 4 | Sadly, he’s way out of his element on either of the scoring lines. |
7 |
Paul Mara | 12 | Moved the puck well, was physical, and stood up for his teammates. |
| 8 | Roman Hamrlik | 10 | Looks more comfortable with each game after missing most of camp. |
9 |
Guillaume Latendresse | 15 | More involved both offensively and physically, much better effort. |
| 10 | Josh Gorges | 8 | Some really good moments were overshadowed by really bad ones. |
11 |
Jaroslav Halak | – | The rust certainly showed after being out of action for 2 weeks. |
| 12 | Jaroslav Spacek | 6 | For essentially being the "#1" D-man, he needs to do a lot more. |
13 |
Maxim Lapierre | 11 | Though he’s not playing poorly, the spark he had last year isn’t there. |
| 14 | Max Pacioretty | 18 | Much improved from last week, he looked noticeably more comfortable. |
15 |
Hal Gill | 15 | Solid on the PK, never a dull moment 5-on-5 though. |
| 16 | Andrei Kostitsyn | 17 | Had some good moments, hopefully the benching will lead to more. |
17 |
Kyle Chipchura | – | Got better with each game as he shakes off the rust. |
| 18 | Georges Laraque | 16 | Perhaps he’s playing a little too much, but he’s not playing poorly. |
19 |
Yannick Weber | – | Looks to be way out of his element 5-on-5 but looked okay on the PP. |
| 20 | Matt D’Agostini | 19 | Out of position, lousy decisions, waiver status is saving his NHL time. |
21 |
Gregory Stewart | 20 | Useless again, his best attribute right now is his low cap hit. |
Dropped from the rankings: Glen Metropolit
(7) and Ryan O’Byrne (13) due to injuries.
|
The Dog |
The Bulldogs were looking to parlay their
preseason success (4-0) into a positive regular season debut.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be as they fell in a shootout to kick off
their 09-10 campaign.
|
Results: |
| October 9 | 1 |
2 | 3 | Tot |
PP |
SOG |
| Rockford | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/6 | 38 |
| Hamilton | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1/6 | 41 |
Attendance: 6,187
3 Stars: 1) Sanford – HAM 2) White – HAM 3) Maxwell –
HAM
|
Stats: |
Curtis Sanford was the story of the home
opener, but it was a trio of the lesser known players who came alive to win this
game for Hamilton.
|
SKATERS |
| # | Player | GP | G | A | +/- | SH | PIMS |
| 6 | Chad Anderson | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | J.T. Wyman | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 4 | 0 |
| 12 | Andrew Conboy | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | Mike Glumac | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | Brock Trotter | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 4 |
| 20 | Ryan Russell | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 4 | 0 |
| 21 | Mathieu Darche | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 6 | 2 |
| 25 | Ryan White | 1 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | Tom Pyatt | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | Eric Neilson | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 2 |
| 32 | Frederic St. Denis | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 2 | 2 |
| 44 | Shawn Belle | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Marc-Andre Bergeron | 1 | 0 | 2 | +1 | 1 | 0 |
| 61 | Andre Benoit | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 2 | 0 |
| 72 | Mathieu Carle | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 2 |
| 74 | Sergei Kostitsyn | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 0 |
| 76 | P.K. Subban | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 4 | 4 |
| 91 | Ben Maxwell | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 5 | 0 |
|
GOALIES |
| # | Player | Record | SV% | GAA |
| 1 | Curtis Sanford | 1-0-0 | 1.000 | 0.00 |
|
Leaders: |
Goals: 5 tied with 1
Assists: Marc-Andre Bergeron (2)
Points: 4 tied with 2
+/-: Andrew Conboy (+2)
PIMS: Eric Neilson (7)
|
This Week: |
October 16: Hamilton vs
Peoria
October 17: Hamilton vs Chicago
|
3 Up, 3 |
This is the first of what will be several
different segments in this section of the HW Recap. This week, we look at
3 positive and negative elements that newly acquired Marc-Andre Bergeron will
bring to Montreal’s lineup.
|
|
1) Shot – We all know this is his bread and
butter and the Habs certainly need a weapon on the back end of the PP.
Jaroslav Spacek just hasn’t cut it there thus far.
2) Mobility – Simply put, there’s an overwhelming lack of this on the current
defence. He may be small, but he can at least out skate some people, which
is more than Hal Gill can do.
3) First pass – This season, when the forwards have the puck, good things have
usually happened. Problem is, the d-men can’t get it to them often enough,
Bergeron will help in this regard.
|
|
1) Physicality – For a defence corps that’s
bigger stature wise, they don’t hit like that’s the case. Bergeron’s never
been known as a physical defenceman and that’s not going to change here.
2) Workload – Bergeron has never been a "minute-muncher" over his career.
Though he’ll bring a veteran presence to the lineup, he’s not going to be taking
many minutes away from the likes of Spacek, Hamrlik, and Gill, among others.
3) Hair loss – The collective Montreal Canadiens fan base will be tearing out tufts when they see another trademark bonehead giveaway that he has become
known for over the years.
|
|
At this stage of the season, there’s no real
perfect defenceman on the open market. Everyone has their strengths and
drawbacks and Bergeron’s strengths fit what this team needs perfectly.
Yannick Weber isn’t ready to step in and be a full-timer, Bergeron brings
similar elements to the table. At $750,000, he’s a cheap short-term option
that may have a useful role even when everyone’s healthy. Considering the
circumstances, this looks to be a solid pickup.
|
Final |
Listening to and reading some of the comments
from fans and media in other Canadian cities earlier in the week discussing
controversies, trades, firings, and everything in between, I thought to myself,
"Geez, it’s a good thing Hab fans aren’t so fickle." Spoke too soon I
suppose. Just 5 games into the season and the Habs missing arguably their
top player en route to a 2-3 record (with all games on the road no less), the
public outcry is already starting in some spots. Who should be traded,
waived, released, fired, I think I may have even seen the word “shot” mentioned in
some places. Give me a break already, Saturday’s loss does not mark the
end of the world as we know it. What it does mark is a whole whopping
3-game losing streak, something every team goes through at some point or
another. Every season is a series of ups and downs; why not just sit back
and enjoy the ride, at least until there’s something actually worth complaining
about? It’s a new team, a new system, a new coaching staff. Give
them time and judge based on the end result, not just when there’s a bump in the
road.
|
Did You |
During the offseason, HabsWorld
started using its own
Twitter feed
and Facebook
page, join us if you haven’t already. I am also
tracking the Habs’ already messy cap situation, the spreadsheet can be found
here.
If you have any questions regarding the spreadsheet or this article, feel free
to drop me a line at
[email protected].
