The Habs once again are on the brink of
elimination after losing 2 of 3 games to the Penguins this week while the
Bulldogs are a win away from the conference finals. With Game 6 coming on
Monday, we look at 3 Keys to success, while the Final Thought addresses the
latest Sergei Kostitsyn controversy. This, plus the Power Rankings and a
World Championships update, 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. These power
rankings are carried forward from the regular season, no new ones will be started.
Rk |
Player |
Prev. |
Comments |
1 |
Jaroslav Halak |
1 | Can’t fault him on either loss, he’s giving the team a chance each game. |
| 2 | Brian Gionta | 3 | Was in on half the team’s goals and scored the GWG in Game 4. |
3 |
Mike Cammalleri | 2 | Scored in Saturday’s loss but needs to revert back to Round 1 form soon. |
| 4 | Tomas Plekanec | 5 | Playing well defensively but needs to do something offensively very soon. |
5 |
Josh Gorges | 7 | You could make a good case that he’s the #1 d-man right now. |
| 6 | Scott Gomez | 4 | He’s been shut down very well by the Pens, a non-factor this week. |
7 |
Hal Gill | 10 | Anyone who shuts Crosby down for that long deserves commendation. |
| 8 | P.K. Subban | 11 | He struggled a bit in Games 4 and 5 but is still exceeding expectations. |
| 9 | Roman Hamrlik | 13 | Not enough credit is being given to him for stepping up with Markov out. |
10 |
Dominic Moore | 9 | If he’s not producing, he at least needs to be better on the draw. |
| 11 | Maxim Lapierre | 18 | This is more of what is required from him and not a moment too soon. |
12 |
Ryan O’Byrne | 15 | Has played a very safe and efficient series, blocking lots of shots as well. |
| 13 | Tom Pyatt | 19 | Really providing a spark to the lineup at both ends of the rink. |
14 |
Travis Moen | 14 | It’s time to plant him in front of the net, see if he can help that way. |
| 15 | Andrei Kostitsyn | 17 | Has bounced back reasonably well after being demoted to the 4th line. |
16 |
Benoit Pouliot | 12 | Before last game, you could at least say he was hustling defensively. |
| 17 | Marc-Andre Bergeron | 16 | If only he could do like his partner (O’Byrne) and keep things simple. |
| 18 | Glen Metropolit | 20 | Looked better Saturday but a faceoff win percentage of 14.8% is brutal. |
| 19 | Mathieu Darche | 22 | Didn’t complain about the benching and is making the most of it now. |
Dropped from the rankings: Carey Price (6 –
DNP), Andrei Markov (8 – injured), and Ben Maxwell (21 – DNP).
|
The Dog |
With a critical victory Saturday night, the
Bulldogs have a pair of chances to seal a 2nd round win. Even better?
Both games are at home.
|
Results: |
| May 4 | 1 |
2 | 3 | Tot |
PP |
SOG |
| Hamilton | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2/6 | 26 |
| Abbotsford | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2/2 | 33 |
Attendance: 2,556
3 Stars: 1) Lammers – ABB 2) Dumont – HAM 3)
Delmore
– ABB
| May 6 | 1 |
2 | 3 | Tot |
PP |
SOG |
| Hamilton | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0/5 | 27 |
| Abbotsford | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1/5 | 29 |
Attendance: 2,631
3 Stars: 1) Wahl – ABB 2) Bouma – ABB 3)
Banks
– ABB
| May 8 | 1 |
2 | 3 | Tot |
PP |
SOG |
| Hamilton | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0/4 | 29 |
| Abbotsford | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1/5 | 32 |
Attendance: 2,899
3 Stars: 1) Benoit – HAM 2) Glumac – HAM 3) Sutter – ABB
|
Stats: |
It was a memorable week for a pair of rookies
as both Olivier Fortier and Gabriel Dumont scored their 1st career professional
goals.
|
SKATERS |
| # | Player | GP | G | A | +/- | SH | PIMS |
| 4 | Michael Vernace | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 4 | 2 |
| 5 | Alex Henry | 3 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 1 | 6 |
| 6 | Chad Anderson | 3 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | J.T. Wyman | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 5 | 0 |
| 12 | Andrew Conboy | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 2 | 4 |
| 14 | Olivier Fortier | 3 | 1 | 0 | E | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | Mike Glumac | 3 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 8 | 0 |
| 18 | Dany Masse | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Brock Trotter | 3 | 0 | 2 | +1 | 4 | 0 |
| 20 | Ryan Russell | 3 | 2 | 1 | +4 | 6 | 0 |
| 25 | Ryan White | 3 | 0 | 2 | +1 | 5 | 14 |
| 26 | Grant Stevenson | 3 | 0 | 2 | +3 | 8 | 2 |
| 28 | Aaron Palushaj | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 6 | 4 |
| 32 | Frederic St. Denis | 3 | 0 | 0 | +4 | 7 | 2 |
| 42 | Hunter Bishop | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 2 | 0 |
| 44 | Shawn Belle | 3 | 0 | 0 | E | 2 | 0 |
| 51 | David Desharnais | 3 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 6 | 2 |
| 61 | Andre Benoit | 3 | 2 | 0 | +3 | 9 | 4 |
| 82 | Gabriel Dumont | 3 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 4 | 0 |
|
GOALIES |
| # | Player | Record | SV% | GAA |
| 1 | Curtis Sanford | 1-0-0 | .938 | 2.01 |
| 30 | Cedrick Desjardins | 1-1-0 | .903 | 3.00 |
|
Leaders: |
Goals: Mike Glumac (7)
Assists: Grant Stevenson (7)
Points: David Desharnais (11)
+/-: Shawn Belle (+5)
PIMS: Ryan White (41)
Shots: Mike Glumac (37)
|
Round 2: |
May 10: Abbotsford vs Hamilton
May 11: Abbotsford vs Hamilton*
* – if necessary
|
At the |
With the Habs still in the playoffs, there are
only a handful of players representing Montreal in the 2010 World Championships.
In fact, only 3 prospects are currently there, 2 of which are doubtful to ever
report to the team. Nonetheless, here is how each one has fared thus far:
Player |
Team |
GP |
G |
A |
PTS |
+/- |
SOG |
ATOI |
| Alexei Emelin | RUS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 1 | 14:16 |
| Andreas Engqvist |
SWE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | E | 2 | 14:46 |
| Konstantin Korneev | RUS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 18:24 |
The tournament ends on May 23rd, updates will
appear weekly in the HW Recap.
|
Series |
With the Habs facing elimination on Monday (and
possibly) Wednesday night, here are three keys to survival:
1) Top-6 Scoring: Can this one be more obvious? The top lines
simply aren’t getting the job done and the checking lines can’t be expected to
carry this team.
2) PP Adjustments: For some reason, the top unit of
Cammalleri-Gomez-Gionta seems content with just passing the puck to the point
and hoping for the best. Guess what, it doesn’t work! Why not flip
the D pairings, let Bergeron/Subban play with the 2nd unit and whoever the 2nd
pairing winds up being on Monday (possibly a double shifted Bergeron with Spacek)
play with the top trio. That way, the better scorers will be less inclined
to pass the puck to the point and be more inclined to actually shoot the puck
themselves.
3) Quick start: An early goal really does wonders for this team’s
confidence. Couple that with the opportunity to get in Fleury’s head
early, and there’s double the motivation.
– There could be a couple of players available to Montreal in the next couple of
days should they force a Game 7. Both Gregory Stewart (Chicago, AHL) and
Robert Mayer (Cincinnati, ECHL) are facing elimination. If their
respective teams are put out, they then can be recalled to Montreal without
being subjected to the 4 Recall rule. Although neither would likely play,
the presence of Mayer in particular may help if for no other reason but to give
the shooters someone different to shoot at other than Price/Halak.
– For those hoping that Andrei Kostitsyn will get his act together, take some
solace in the fact that he has 9 points (5-4-9) in 12 career regular season
games vs the Pens. Put that past performance with the fact that he’s
struggling right now and he’s really due.
|
Final |
It’s sad that for the second time in a month,
this space has to be dedicated to the discussion of a player not even in
Montreal’s lineup, Sergei Kostitsyn. (For those wondering what I said
about him last month, click
here
and scroll to the bottom.) Unfortunately, Kostitsyn has once again
made things about him and not the team to the point where he’s essentially
exiled. For that, the Habs have my applause. If Kostitsyn was a
player who actually contributed regularly this year, I’d be singing a different
tune but quite frankly, the upside that he could possibly provide in the lineup
is negated by the fact that most of the players don’t seem to want him there.
Do you make the team unhappy to make Kostitsyn happy? Not in a million
years, which also is why I support this decision.
It’s pretty safe to say that Sergei’s future with the Habs is pretty much
non-existent, but there still may be a way to salvage some value. Let him
go to the ongoing Worlds to play for Team Belarus where he’d be a top forward
without question. He’s providing nothing to the Habs right now, it’s not
as if they’ll miss his contribution to the lineup or the dressing room.
Considering the fact that the team has a couple of healthy scratches at the
moment, he won’t be stepping in any time soon either. It’s the best of
both worlds – the Habs rid themselves of a distraction while giving Kostitsyn a
shot at playing and resurrecting his career (and potentially improving what the
Habs could get in a trade). It can’t be any worse than the current
situation, can it?
If you have a question regarding
this article,
please feel free to drop me a line at
b.larose@habsworld.net.