Though the week started off poorly, the Habs
rebounded with a pair of crucial wins to put themselves on the verge of securing
a playoff spot. Meanwhile, the accolades continue for the Hamilton
Bulldogs, as they earned the Western Conference title and are also the focus of
this week’s Final Thought. The schedule makers were kind to Montreal down
the stretch this year; more on that plus the weekly Power Rankings, in the
Recap.
|
Power |
The PPR’s are on a cumulative basis with
some bias towards the current week. The prev. column represents the last
ranking for the player; players not on last week’s list will be slotted back
where they were when returning from injury/benching/recall (italicized numbers).
Thus, multiple players may have the same previous ranking.
Rk |
Player |
Prev. |
Comments |
1 |
Jaroslav Halak |
4 | 2 shutouts with little offensive help – this one was really easy to pick. |
| 2 | Tomas Plekanec | 2 | Something isn’t quite right with him but he did get the winner in Philly. |
3 |
Brian Gionta | 1 | The hustle and energy were there but the offensive chances weren’t. |
| 4 | Carey Price | 5 | Played another solid game vs the ‘Canes but just can’t buy a win. |
5 |
Andrei Markov | 7 | The offence wasn’t there this week but played quite well in his own end. |
| 6 | Scott Gomez | 6 | He needs to be a catalyst for this team, but he hasn’t been that lately. |
7 |
Mike Cammalleri | 3 | This slump is eerily reminiscent of the one from the beginning of the year. |
| 8 | Josh Gorges | 7 | Seemed to have no issues while he had various partners this week. |
9 |
Andrei Kostitsyn | 10 | Had lots of chances though he failed to cash on any of them. |
| 10 | Benoit Pouliot | 8 | Once again the clear weak link on that line, needs to wake up soon. |
11 |
Dominic Moore | 12 | A big reason why the team won against Buffalo on Saturday. |
| 12 | Roman Hamrlik | 11 | If the Habs can clinch early in the week, he could use a game off. |
13 |
Ryan O’Byrne | 14 | Stepped up his efforts this week and finally scored a goal (1st in 100 GP). |
| 14 | Sergei Kostitsyn | 13 | Solid against Buffalo but drops as he essentially missed the other 2 games. |
15 |
Travis Moen | 16 | Now he’s showing why the Habs gave him that 3 year, $4.5 M contract. |
| 16 | Marc-Andre Bergeron | 17 | Some scary moments, but he did okay when he moved back to D. |
17 |
Hal Gill | 20 | Kept it simple as always and it proved dividends, very strong effort. |
| 18 | Jaroslav Spacek | 19 | Adequate against the ‘Canes; the time off should do him some good. |
| 19 | Tom Pyatt | 21 | Rebounded quite well after being a healthy scratch early in the week. |
| 20 | Mathieu Darche | 18 | The novelty has worn off, starting to look like the AHL’er we all expected. |
| 21 | Maxim Lapierre | 22 | Strong bounce back week although his effort in his fight was weak. |
| 22 | Ben Maxwell |
19 |
Looked okay after sitting for 2 weeks, kept it simple and didn’t mess up. |
Dropped from the rankings: Glen Metropolit
(15 – injured)
|
The Dog |
It was another record setting week for
Hamilton. This week, they set a franchise record in wins (currently at 51)
and points (currently at 110) while clinching the Western Conference title ensuring home ice in each of the
first three rounds.
|
Results: |
| April 1 | 1 |
2 | 3 | Tot |
PP |
SOG |
| Toronto | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0/7 | 25 |
| Hamilton | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0/5 | 30 |
Attendance: 6,452
3 Stars: 1) Desjardins – HAM 2) Benoit – HAM 3) Reimer –
TOR
| April 3 | 1 |
2 | 3 | OT | SO | Tot |
PP |
SOG |
| Rochester | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2/4 | 24 |
| Hamilton | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0/4 | 33 |
Attendance: 5,561
3 Stars: 1) Repik – ROC 2) Trotter – HAM 3) Desharnais –
HAM
| April 4 | 1 |
2 | 3 | Tot |
PP |
SOG |
| Manitoba | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1/3 | 27 |
| Hamilton | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1/3 | 27 |
Attendance: 2,768
3 Stars: 1) Desharnais – HAM 2) Trotter – HAM 3) Weber –
HAM
|
Stats: |
Speaking of records, David Desharnais has
broken the Bulldogs all-time record for points in a single season, breaking
Jason Chimera’s record of 77 in 2001-02. Of note, Brock Trotter sits at 77
points; this will certainly be a race worth watching in the final week of the
season.
|
SKATERS |
| # | Player | GP | G | A | +/- | SH | PIMS |
| 4 | Michael Vernace | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 19 |
| 5 | Alex Henry | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 3 | 2 |
| 7 | Yannick Weber | 3 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 8 | 0 |
| 8 | Maxime Lacroix | 2 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 5 | 0 |
| 10 | J.T. Wyman | 3 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 10 | 0 |
| 12 | Andrew Conboy | 3 | 1 | 0 | -3 | 6 | 0 |
| 15 | Mike Glumac | 3 | 0 | 1 | +4 | 2 | 6 |
| 18 | Dany Masse | 3 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 3 | 0 |
| 19 | Brock Trotter | 3 | 2 | 2 | +5 | 8 | 4 |
| 23 | Max Pacioretty | 3 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 9 | 2 |
| 25 | Ryan White | 3 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | Grant Stevenson | 3 | 0 | 0 | E | 4 | 4 |
| 28 | Aaron Palushaj | 3 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 4 |
| 32 | Frederic St. Denis | 3 | 0 | 1 | +4 | 1 | 0 |
| 42 | Hunter Bishop | 3 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 3 | 0 |
| 44 | Shawn Belle | 1 | 0 | 1 | +3 | 1 | 0 |
| 51 | David Desharnais | 3 | 3 | 2 | +5 | 10 | 2 |
| 61 | Andre Benoit | 3 | 0 | 2 | +5 | 5 | 4 |
| 76 | P.K. Subban | 3 | 0 | 1 | +3 | 8 | 0 |
|
GOALIES |
| # | Player | Record | SV% | GAA |
| 30 | Cedrick Desjardins | 2-0-1 | .908 | 2.27 |
|
SHOOTOUT |
| # | Player | G/ATT |
| 19 | Brock Trotter | 0/1 |
| 23 | Max Pacioretty | 0/1 |
| 51 | David Desharnais | 0/1 |
| 76 | P.K. Subban | 0/1 |
|
SHOOTOUT |
| # | Player | SVS/ATT |
| 30 | Cedrick Desjardins | 2/4 |
|
Leaders: |
Goals: Brock Trotter (36)
Assists: David Desharnais (51)
Points: David Desharnais (78) (franchise record)
+/-: P.K. Subban (+46) (franchise record)
PIMS: Ryan White (171)
Shots: Mike Glumac (192)
|
This Week: |
April 6: Manitoba vs
Hamilton
April 9: Hamilton vs Syracuse
April 10: Hamilton vs Toronto
End of Regular Season
|
Schedule |
The scoreboard watching continues as the Eastern
Conference playoff race wraps up this week. Who do each of the Habs’
opponents face between now and the end of the season?
Rk |
Team |
PTS |
GP |
Matchups |
APP |
| 6 | Montreal |
86 |
79 |
@ NYI, @ CAR, vs TOR |
0.475 |
| 7 | Philadelphia |
84 |
79 |
@ TOR, @ NYR, vs NYR |
0.503 |
| 8 | Boston | 84 | 78 | @ WSH, vs BUF, vs CAR, @ WSH | 0.640 |
| 9 | New York (R) |
82 | 78 | @ BUF, vs TOR, vs PHI, @ PHI |
0.534 |
| 10 | Atlanta | 81 | 79 | vs NJ, @ WSH, vs PIT | 0.658 |
As of games played through Sunday, April 4.
APP = Average points percentage (of opponents); note that this does not take
home and away records into consideration. Theoretically, the higher
the APP, the tougher the opponents. Though Philadelphia is technically 8th
right now, I’m placing them 7th due to the wins tiebreak.
|
Final |
Generally, I like to comment
either about the Habs or something around the NHL in this section but with the
Hamilton Bulldogs setting a pair of notable franchise records this week, I feel
they deserve a little love here. Think back to earlier in the season when
the Habs were decimated by injuries (you won’t have to think that far back).
At the same time, the Bulldogs were ravaged by injuries themselves; they were in
even worse shape having lost most of their key players to the Habs as
replacements. Yet despite all this, this team full of youngsters and
injury replacements (including numerous tryout players) can now call themselves
the most successful regular season team in Bulldogs’ franchise history, even
better than the group that won the Calder Cup back in 2007. In a Montreal
year mired with frustration and controversy, it’s nice to have some positives
with Hamilton. If you haven’t been following the team this season, I
suggest you start catching some games – they’re a team you truly need to see to
believe.
If you have a question regarding this article or the
capsheet,
please feel free to drop me a line at
b.larose@habsworld.net.