The Habs stumbled this week, winning only 1 of
3 games, while the Bulldogs kept on rolling, winning their 3 contests. As
always, the Recap has your Habs’ player rankings and Bulldogs statpack, plus a
closer look at how the teams’ CHL prospects are faring so far in their
respective seasons. Lastly, the Final Thought examines how Andrei Markov’s
return has actually given the Habs a challenge they’ve yet to face in quite some
time.
|
Player |
Players are rated from 1 to however many
players play on a weekly (non-cumulative) basis. Rankings will be tracked
weekly and averages provided.
1) Benoit Pouliot: He has become much
more assertive on his new line and it showed with a pair of goals and being one
of the bigger offensive threats of the week.
(Previous: 7 Average:
7.00)
2) Jeff Halpern: Did anyone ever think in their wildest dreams that
he’d be tied (at one point this week) for the team lead in scoring a month into
the season? I know I sure didn’t.
(Previous: 5 Average:
5.60)
3) Carey Price: Played fine in goal once again but I’m becoming
concerned with the repeated lack of communication with the D on opposition
dump-ins. Sooner or later, his turnovers will lead to a goal against.
(Previous: 2 Average:
2.00)
4) Mathieu Darche: You can argue that he probably shouldn’t have even
been on the roster based on his early season performances but he was solid to
say the least this week.
(Previous: 10 Average:
14.80)
5) Tomas Plekanec: When the Habs have more chances on the PK than the
opposition does on their PP, he is the main reason for that. His yeoman’s
work shorthanded Saturday alone earns him a top-5 spot in this week’s rankings.
(Previous: 1 Average:
4.80)
6) Brian Gionta: I felt his game got better once Kostitsyn was moved
to his line as it gave him a little more room to operate. Here’s hoping
his goal on Saturday gets him going again.
(Previous: 14 Average:
9.80)
7) P.K. Subban: He seemed to be bailing out practically every other
d-man at least once this week. That’s a sad statement for the other D’s
but good for him.
(Previous: 4 Average:
6.00)
8) Andrei Kostitsyn: Why his ice time was cut was beyond me as
although he didn’t score, he did everything else like he had in previous weeks
(shoot, hustle, and hit).
(Previous: 8 Average:
7.20)
9) Andrei Markov: Clearly not 100% in terms of conditioning but he’s
better now than he was last week which is a step in the right direction given
the fact this is basically training camp for him.
(Previous: 11 Average:
10.00)
10) Mike Cammalleri: Having different linemates each game clearly didn’t
help the cause but he did look better on the PP. I mentioned this last
week but it applies again here – he needs to stop trying to make the pinpoint
shot and just fire, his shot is good enough that it will beat goalies clean even
if it isn’t perfect.
(Previous: 13 Average:
7.40)
11) Jaroslav Spacek: After getting that "scare" in practice, he has
played better. Still not great, but any improvement is a good thing.
It was also good to see him pick up a couple points vs Ottawa.
(Previous: 18 Average:
14.80)
12) Scott Gomez: Aside from no production again, I didn’t find him
all that bad this week. Unfortunately, when you’re the highest paid player
in franchise history, it’s hard to overlook the production part.
(Previous: 12 Average:
12.20)
13) Josh Gorges: He looked more like the player that was scratched
upon being acquired years ago than the player most want signed to a long-term
extension. He needs to be better.
(Previous: 9 Average:
8.20)
14) Travis Moen: Continues to play well on the penalty kill but also
continues to be a non-factor in the offensive zone. We’ve seen enough to
know this won’t be changing anytime soon either.
(Previous: 6 Average:
13.00)
15) Hal Gill: The difference between him now and earlier in the
season is that now he’s getting burned when he’s pinching. Given his (lack
of) speed, perhaps he should back off the aggression for now.
(Previous: 17 Average:
12.80)
16) Lars Eller: He did not impress when given the chance to play on a
scoring line. Given the fact he’s been told to find a place to live in
Montreal, it doesn’t appear a stint in Hamilton is in his near future.
(Previous: 20 Average:
14.60)
17) Roman Hamrlik: His continued presence on the PP simply astounds
me – he rarely shoots and when he does, it’s ineffective…that last word also
describes his play as of late.
(Previous: 19 Average:
14.25)
18) Tom Pyatt: Of the 4th line which was simply atrocious this week,
he was the best of the bunch, largely because of his work on the penalty kill.
(Previous: 21 Average:
18.40)
19) Maxim Lapierre: This is the Lapierre we saw most of last season –
good at nothing, bad at nothing. Even if he just sticks to playing a
physical game, he can still help the team.
(Previous: 16 Average:
11.40)
20) Dustin Boyd: The Habs allowed 6 even strength goals this week –
he was -4. For a player trying to get back in the lineup, can you really
do much worse?
(Previous: DNP Average:
15.50)
|
The Dog |
Unlike the Habs, the Bulldogs just keep on
winning. Hamilton won all of their games this week, extending their
winning streak to 5 games.
|
Results: |
November 2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Tot |
PP |
SOG |
| Manitoba | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0/7 | 20 |
| Hamilton | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1/6 | 29 |
Attendance: 2,468
3 Stars: 1) Pacioretty – HAM 2) Hodgson – MTB 3) Carle – HAM
November 3 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
SO |
Tot |
PP |
SOG |
| Manitoba | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1/6 | 29 |
| Hamilton | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1/7 | 35 |
Attendance: 2,842
3 Stars: 1) B. Sweatt – MTB 2) Palushaj – HAM 3)
Pacioretty – MTB
November 5 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Tot |
PP |
SOG |
| Binghamton | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1/2 | 25 |
| Hamilton | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0/4 | 39 |
Attendance: 13,267 (at the Bell
Centre)
3 Stars: 1) Palushaj – HAM 2) Weber – HAM 3) Benoit – BNG
|
Stats: |
Though David Desharnais saw his 10-game assist
streak snap against Binghamton, he scored a SH-EN goal with just 7 seconds left
to extend his point streak to 11 games.
|
SKATERS |
|
# |
Player |
GP |
G |
A |
+/- |
SH |
PIMS |
| 4 | Brendon Nash | 2 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 | 2 |
| 5 | Alex Henry | 3 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 4 | 4 |
| 7 | Yannick Weber | 3 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 7 | 0 |
| 10 | J.T. Wyman | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 3 | 2 |
| 12 | Andrew Conboy | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 2 | 2 |
| 14 | Olivier Fortier | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Kyle Klubertanz | 2 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | Ben Maxwell | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 5 | 4 |
| 20 | Ryan Russell | 3 | 1 | 1 | +4 | 10 | 4 |
| 22 | Andreas Engqvist | 3 | 1 | 0 | +2 | 4 | 2 |
| 23 | Max Pacioretty | 3 | 2 | 2 | +1 | 18 | 2 |
| 24 | Ian Schultz | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Ryan White | 3 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 12 | 6 |
| 26 | Alexander Avtsin | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | Aaron Palushaj | 3 | 1 | 5 | +4 | 7 | 0 |
| 32 | Frederic St. Denis | 3 | 0 | 4 | +2 | 5 | 0 |
| 40 | Gabriel Dumont | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 2 | 0 |
| 44 | Jimmy Bonneau | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 5 |
| 51 | David Desharnais | 3 | 1 | 2 | +4 | 8 | 0 |
| 72 | Mathieu Carle | 3 | 3 | 1 | +5 | 5 | 2 |
| 85 | Neil Petruic | 2 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 0 |
|
GOALIES |
|
# |
Player |
Record |
SV% |
GAA |
| 1 | Curtis Sanford | 2-0-0 | .933 | 1.50 |
| 35 | Robert Mayer | 1-0-0 | .862 | 3.69 |
|
SHOOTOUT |
| # | Player | G/ATT |
| 20 | Ryan Russell | 1/1 |
| 22 | Andreas Engqvist | 0/1 |
| 26 | Alexander Avtsin | 1/1 |
| 28 | Aaron Palushaj | 1/1 |
|
SHOOTOUT |
| # | Player | SVS/ATT |
| 35 | Robert Mayer | 3/4 |
|
Leaders: |
Goals: Yannick Weber (7)
Assists: David Desharnais (11)
Points: David Desharnais (15)
+/-: Desharnais/Carle (+8)
PIMS: Alex Henry (27)
Shots: Max Pacioretty (54)
|
Schedule: |
November 10: Hamilton vs
Lake Erie
November 13: Grand Rapids vs Hamilton
November 14: Grand Rapids vs Hamilton
|
Inside |
Now that the CHL seasons are well underway
(into their 6th week), let’s take a look at how the 5 Hab prospects are faring
in their respective leagues.
Player |
Team |
GP |
G |
A |
PTS |
PIMS |
+/- |
| Brendan Gallagher |
Vancouver | 19 | 17 | 13 | 30 | 29 | +16 |
| Louis Leblanc | Montreal | 15 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 17 | +10 |
| Phillipe Lefebvre |
Montreal | 17 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 17 | +9 |
| Morgan Ellis | Cape Breton | 19 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 19 | -7 |
| Jarred Tinordi | London | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | -2 |
Though the numbers don’t show it, Tinordi has
been earning more ice time and is becoming better defensively while Ellis leads
all Screaming Eagle d-men in points. As for the forwards? They’re
all top-2 in their respective teams’ scoring.
|
Final |
The Habs have been a different team since
Andrei Markov returned to the lineup and unfortunately, the differences haven’t
been for the better. After seeing the team play with all sorts of energy
early on this season, they’ve been largely complacent in recent games.
After Saturday’s loss to Ottawa, I started to ponder the potential reasons for
this. After running a whole bunch of thoughts through my head, this was
the only one that made some sense.
Since last season, the Habs have always had someone hurt with the exception of 2
of the 3 games this week. As a result, someone has always had to step up,
the team was fighting adversity with so-and-so being gone from the lineup.
Montreal, as we all recall, made it to the 3rd round last year meaning they
played reasonably well when facing this. Now, such a problem doesn’t exist
which in itself poses a challenge the Habs haven’t faced since Jacques Martin
was named coach.
How does the team keep up that extra effort to compensate for injuries when said
injuries aren’t there? The mantra of a good team is finding ways to step
it up when players go down, but I can’t help but wonder if the mantra of a great
team is doing that and maintaining that effort level with a full complement of
players? Perhaps that’s the key for this team to take that next step
forward – so far, the results aren’t promising, but it’s still early.
Besides, given this team’s relative lack of luck with injuries, it won’t be long
before that adverse situation presents itself again.
If you have a question regarding
this article or the
capsheet,
please feel free to drop me a line at
b.larose@habsworld.net.