Author: Dose

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Alex Tuch pulls off a little miracle worthy of a stop-of-the-year candidate

Last night’s 11-game schedule made for another busy Saturday in the National Hockey League.

A number of highlights caught the eye.

Here are the main ones.

1. Forward Alex Tuch makes a sensational save

Last night, two mid-pack Atlantic Division teams faced off in Detroit, as the visiting Buffalo Sabres took on the Red Wings.

It was a low-scoring game, with the Red Wings coming out on top 2-1.

Both teams’ goalies were solid, and even on the Sabres’ side, another player stood out in front of the net.

Forward Alex Tuch saved the day for his team by making two consecutive saves on his knees from the goal line.

Seriously, the second save with a little mustard could be a candidate for save of the year.

Kudos to Tuch, who gave it his all to keep his team in the game.

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2. Auston Matthews avenges Mitch Marner with a hard body check

The Maple Leafs have always been known as “softs”, especially when it comes to their star forwards.

They’re generally very soft, and don’t get physically involved.

Yesterday, however, Auston Matthews came to the defense of his good friend Mitch Marner.

Marner was sent to the mat by St. Louis Blues defenseman Ryan Suter, and then Matthews came to serve up a solid double-check on Ryan Suter.

Here’s the sequence.

In short, Matthews reacted well and didn’t hesitate to avenge his teammate.

Still, the Leafs lost 4-2 to the Blues in St. Louis.

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3. Golden Knights remain undefeated (8-0-0) at home this season

Once again this year, Vegas is one of the best teams in the NHL.

The Golden Knights are dominant, especially at home.

They’re so dominant at home that, so far, they’re undefeated at T-Mobile Arena, with all eight of their wins this season coming at home.

In fact, on their 8-3-1 record, they’re 8-0-0 at home and 0-3-1 away.

That’s a pretty impressive stat.

The Golden Knights’ 8ᵉ home win actually concluded last night in overtime, as Brett Howden played the hero against the Utah Hockey Club to give his team a 4-3 victory.

4. Canucks escape in extremis with victory over Sharks

Vancouver isn’t dominating at the start of the season, when on the contrary, it’s often harder than it should be for the Canucks.

They have a good team on paper, but the absence of Thatcher Demko in net seems to be hurting the team’s morale.

Last night, the Canucks struggled against the NHL’s worst team, the San Jose Sharks, scoring the winning goal with less than 30 seconds left in the game.

The Canucks came away with both points in extremis.

In the victory, Jake DeBrusk scored his first Canucks goal.

5. A sensational AHL goal for Donovan Sebrango

We’re off to the AHL now, to the Belleville Senators, where we witnessed a superb goal from defenseman Donovan Sebrango.

The son of former Montreal CF player Eduardo Sebrango shot between his legs without looking at the puck to score a magnificent goal.

This is truly a fine achievement for the player of Canadian and Cuban descent.

Overtime

– Here are yesterday’s results.

– Here are yesterday’s top scorers.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Today’s NHL schedule: seven games.

(Credit: Google/NHL)

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Plane hit by tanker! Habs were unable to leave Pittsburgh

MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 02: Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki (14) celebrates his goal with Montreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovsky (20) and Montreal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield (22) during the Florida Panthers versus the Montreal Canadiens game on April 02, 2024, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Last night, after their 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Canadiens’ players were supposed to head straight back to Montreal that evening.

However, this was not the case.

A problem/accident with the team’s plane forced the players to sleep in Pittsburgh.

According to Renaud Lavoie, a tanker truck crashed into one of the wings of the Habs’ plane, cancelling the Habs’ flight that evening.

As a result, the Habs players had to spend the night in Pittsburgh rather than Montreal.

It’s important to note that the same kind of event occurred last year in Pittsburgh too, when it was a bus that crashed into the Canadiens’ plane.

In short, not only did the Habs lose last night, but the players had to sleep in Pittsburgh and wait until the next day to return to the Québécois metropolis.

The Habs play their next game on Tuesday evening at the Bell Centre, starting at 7 p.m., when the Calgary Flames come to town.

Overtime

– Deserved.

– After Robert Thomas, this would be another heavy loss for the Blues.

– Coming up.

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Arber Xhekaj: in great demand if placed on the market, says Darren Dreger

Let’s talk about Arber Xhekaj.

We don’t know what the Canadiens really think of him. Does the club love him? Does the club want to break him? Does the club want him to improve his game on the ice?

Can any of this be true?

What we do know, however, is that when the Habs have to let a defenseman go, he’s the one on the hook. Martin St-Louis left him out on several occasions recently… and he only played when the club had fewer than six healthy defensemen.

So, under the circumstances, it’s natural to wonder about his future in town. Are the Canadiens thinking of trading him? Does the club want to build around him?

According to Darren Dreger, who spoke to TSN 690 this morning, the Canadiens don’t want to part with Xhekaj, who can be part of the future if he continues to play to his strengths.

He also added that if the club were to place the Sheriff on the market, at least a dozen teams would be interested in getting their hands on his services from Montreal.

Is anyone surprised? No. After all, we know that Xhekaj has good market value.

But what the story doesn’t tell is the price at which he could be traded. After all, I have no doubt that several teams would call to inquire about his availability.

But would it be at a price that would move the Canadiens forward?

I don’t think that the sacrosanct first choice that we once “could have” for his services has really been on the table. And I don’t think it will be in November 2024 either.

I don’t see the Habs getting the piece they want for WiFi. I see him staying for now… but to be continued.

Overtime

– Caution.

– Bad timing.

– Major injury in New York.

– Take care, Tony.

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Habs: second loss in less than three weeks against the Penguins

After Thursday’s defeat in Washington, the Canadiens were back in action tonight in Pittsburgh.

For the occasion, Samuel Montembeault was back in the cage.

Here are the line-ups:

At the end of a very tight period, Sidney Crosby broke the ice in this game.

With a precise shot, he foiled Montembeault.

And just like in the first period, when no goals were scored in the second, the Penguins captain doubled his team’s lead.

Crosby 2, Canadiens 0. He had scored his team’s last four goals, having scored both Pens goals in the previous game.

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For the first two periods, Josh Anderson pivoted the first line alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.

This experiment only lasted 40 minutes, as Kirby Dach replaced him in the third period.

This change whipped up… the fourth line. Christian Dvorak took his own rebound to reduce the deficit to one goal.

It was his first goal in 16 games.

Despite pulling their goalie in the final moments, Montreal were unable to create a tie.

Lane Hutson went close, but hit the post.

Final score: 3-1 Penguins, who scored in an empty net. The streak of games with at least one goal for Cole Caufield now stands at four.

Montreal returns to action on Tuesday against the Calgary Flames at the Bell Centre.

Overtime

– Tempers flared late in the game, with Jayden Struble throwing down the gloves against Ryan Graves.

– No penalty awarded

– Very lucky.

– Far from a perfect match.

– Not his best game…

– Big check from David Savard… to Alex Newhook.

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Slafkovsky headbutt: Noel Acciari did what he wanted on the ice last night

The Montreal Canadiens suffered their third consecutive loss last night, as the Habs fell 3-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Let’s just say that when Christian Dvorak was the only Habs scorer, it says a lot about the kind of game Martin St-Louis’ team played.

The Habs didn’t play their worst game, and still managed to generate some good chances, especially in the third period, but in the end, the players lacked opportunism.

Of course, credit must be given to Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, who did very well in a game where he saw the opposition shoot at the net more often than his team (26 to 24 for the Habs).

In short, one might say that it was an uneventful game/loss for the Habs.

However, the referees’ performance made the game degenerate.

Several infractions by the Penguins, more specifically by forward Noel Acciari, were not penalized by the referees, creating a lot of animosity in the game and a lot of frustration on the part of the Habs players.

And, let’s just say, having to sleep in Pittsburgh certainly didn’t reduce that level of frustration after the loss.

In short, Noel Acciari did whatever he wanted on the ice last night, and that’s just not right.

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The Penguins forward made a number of dirty hits on the Habs players, including the one on Juraj Slafkovsky’s head late in the game that got the most attention.

Clearly a dirty hit, it broke the Habs’ momentum, especially as it went unpunished and Slaf retreated to the dressing room.

The Habs had plenty of life in the third period, but Acciari’s hit cut the Habs’ momentum.

So it’s only natural that Acciari’s hit was the one that broke the camel’s back, forcing the Habs players to react after the clock had run out, to avoid receiving a penalty as the club looked to tie the game.

As soon as the game ended, Arber Xhekaj attempted a knee-on-knee hit on Acciari, creating total chaos on the ice, as all players on the ice were involved in a free-for-all, with Xhekaj and Struble the main players on the Habs side.

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Anyway, the point is that, in the end, if the referees had done their job instead of letting Noel Acciari do whatever he wanted without consequence, it wouldn’t have come to this.

Kevin Bieksa himself said that Acciari had it coming and deserved it, and that in the end, the Habs had to react and give Acciari his due.

In short, the referees did a pitiful job yesterday, and today, Arber Xhekaj is being insulted and denigrated on social networks, when in the end, he only did his job by avenging Acciari’s dirty moves.

It’s a shame, but more and more, it seems that no matter what Xhekaj does, he’ll be punished and seen as the ONLY bad guy.

Overtime

– Deserved

– Nice.

– For those who missed it.

– To listen to.

– To be continued.

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Jason Kelce smashes the phone of a fan who insulted his brother

After last season’s football season, the NFL saw a great end his career.

Jason Kelce, one of the best centers in history, hung up his boots after 13 years with the Philadelphia Eagles. Not only has the league lost one of its finest players, but also an exceptional human being, an ambassador for the game.

In the last few hours, Jason went ballistic. A “fan” called his brother Travis a fag***. The fan deserved what he got: his phone was smashed by Jason.

This supporter richly deserved it, and whether he’s an athlete or not, you don’t treat someone like that.

Ever since he publicly dated Taylor Swift, the Kansas City Chiefs’ close winger has seemed an unloved soul. Yet the only “mistake” he’s made is playing with the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, the unloved ones of American football.

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Otherwise, Travis is a guy so close to his community, and like his big brother, he’s an exceptional human being. The Kelces have been very well brought up. They’re good football players and even have a podcast together, one of the most popular podcasts in the world.

It’s called New Heights , and it’s certainly a podcast not to be missed.

Coming back to Jason’s gesture, I don’t think he’s to blame. All the supporter had to do was shut up and keep his homophobic comments to himself.

It’s 2024, dude… C’mon …

Overtime

– Watch Elliotte Friedman’s interview with Juraj Slafkovsky.

– Will the Alouettes make it to the Grey Cup for the second year in a row?

– Well done.

– The Bell Centre filled for the Victory game in March. [THN]

– About time.

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Joshua Roy hat trick in Rocket’s (eighth) victory

Canadiens fans have a great Saturday ahead of them. First, the Rocket play this afternoon, and in the evening, the Habs visit the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Laval got off to a strong start with another win (6-3). It’s already the eighth win of the season for Sylvain Vincent’s team.

Joshua Roy was the star of the game, scoring three goals, his last in an empty net. First, he gave his team the lead:

Moments later, he doubled his team’s lead with his second goal of the game. It turned out to be the winning goal.

Too easy for him!

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And in front of a crowd of 10,033, he sealed the game’s outcome in an empty net.

This season, he has 10 points in nine games.

Let’s just say that, with the injury to Alex Barré-Boulet, Roy has earned himself the first recall in Montreal. I’d much rather have him play with the Habs than Christian Dvorak, but unfortunately I don’t make the decisions.

If he dominates with the club-school, why not leave him there, though?

Maybe that’s why; Sylvain Vincent’s team is in first place in the North Division with an 8-1-0 record. And in the AHL, only the Calgary Wranglers (9-1-0) have a better record.

In the absence of Jakub Dobes, Connor Hughes was on duty, and for the second time in 24 hours, he stopped the Providence Bruins. This time, he stopped 27 of 30 shots.

Overtime

– CFL Eastern Final: Alouettes vs Argonauts.

– Well deserved.

– What a performance!

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The problem is expectations (set and validated by management)

Kent Hughes set the bar too high.

The Canadiens had another tough night last night in Washington. The season is not even a month old, and already the Montrealers have had five thaws since the start of the season:

6 to 3 vs Penguins
4 to 1 vs Kings
7 to 2 vs Rangers
8 to 2 vs Kraken
6 to 2 vs Capitals

This was the team’s first thaw on the road, the other four having (unfortunately) been suffered in front of Montreal fans at the Bell Centre.

Apart from the play of Lane Hutson, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky, nothing is going right for the Canadiens.

Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating, but Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson are giving it their all…

He gives what he can give, Gally.

(Credit: Getty Images)

But for the rest, it’s zero, as Julie Masse sang.

The Habs have the second-worst cumulative differential in the NHL(minus-15). Differential means nothing individually when the sample is small, but collectively, over a sequence of more than 10 games, it’s very revealing.

The Canadiens aren’t just losing games: they’re constantly getting washed out. It’s not necessarily the fact that the team has won only four of its 11 games that worries me this morning, it’s the fact that it’s downgraded far too often.

1. Montreal’s goaltenders (and defense) are giving up the most goals per game on average so far this season in the Bettman circuit: 4.18. And the forwards don’t even score three per game…

2. The Canadiens have been dominated in shots on goal in nine of their 11 games, often by almost twice as many.

3. In five-on-five situations, the Canadiens are struggling. Only the Ducks have a worse Corsi than the Habs in the entire NHL.

4. The Canadiens are on track for a 67-point season, which would put them in the NHL’s bottom 5 for the fourth year in a row. This would put the Habs in 28th place for the third straight season (after finishing 32nd and last).

5. Christian Dvorak, who made yet another mistake that no quality NHLer can afford to make last night, should be waived and sent to Laval.

6. Arber Xhekaj, Joel Armia, Alex Newhook…

I could go on like this until tomorrow, but I have professional (and personal) obligations.

Expectations
Before the start of the season, I said repeatedly – and got crap for it – that I didn’t believe in the Habs ‘ chances of making the playoffs. I watched the playoffs last spring and the Canadiens were light years away from being able to play that style of hockey.

And it couldn’t be said that the team we saw during the preparatory schedule was any better than last year’s: Dach, Kapanen, Hutson and Heinamen IN, Kovacevic, Allen, Monahan, Pearson and Ylonenv OUT…

In short, I’m not surprised (at all) by the Canadiens’ successive defeats. Although the way we’re taking a lot of these losses is worse than I expected, but hey…

Except that something has changed with the Habs. Martin St-Louis saying he doesn’t want to listen to criticism from people he wouldn’t ask for advice… Juraj Slafkovsky claiming he doesn’t have a solution/explanation, adding to journalists that they’ll probably find it when they write their articles… Cole Caufield implying to Guillaume Lefrançois that the latter can’t really talk about the consequences of shoulder surgery, because he’s never had shoulder surgery…

Clearly, the media and fans have higher expectations this season… and so does the club!

A year after refusing to utter the “P” word , management, coaching staff and players talked in September about at worst being in the mix, and at best making them, the damned playoffs.

Nobody expected the Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup this year (or next), but pretty much everyone expected to see progress, however small. Management’s message wasn’t the same this year.

But right now, we’re not seeing any. And we should still see some, even if Patrik Laine is out of action…

Defensively, in our zone, it’s even worse than last year. And the year before that too…

The problem, in my opinion, is that the organization set the bar too high (too fast) when it talked about a mix last September. The club is still rebuilding and there are still holes everywhere. There are plenty of youngsters to learn, especially at the back, and a number of high-paid veterans are no longer doing anything up front. Thinking we’d make the playoffs with this group was a dream come true.

And believe me, there were plenty of dreams among Montreal fans. If you knew how many people bet on “yes, the Canadiens will make the playoffs” at Mise-o-jeu…

Kent Hughes set the bar too high.
(Credit: Getty Images)

Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton set the bar too high before the start of the campaign with their mix. And the fans, fed up with spending flat evenings in front of their TV sets, or even worse, spending a fortune on one-way games at the Bell Centre, drank the Kool-Aid. It’s normal, sport is emotional/irrational… and they hope for the best for their team.

Except that in sport (as in life), it’s important to set goals that are achievable, but still relatively difficult to reach. If you reach them too easily, you’ll demote yourself. Same thing if you never reach them! That’s what high-level coaches are taught in training courses…

P.R. or poor assessment?
Some people claim that Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton talked about mixes because, at PR level, not doing so would have been a disaster. So they lied or misrepresented the truth in front of the cameras…

Instead, I think the Canadiens’ management believed their team was a little further along than it actually is.

Otherwise, why lie? Every thaw puts a huge (and new) layer of disappointment/pressure on chum Martin behind the bench. Trying to avoid 24-48 hours of disappointment in September, only to have your fan base experience it for six months, isn’t exactly P.R. excellence!

In short, we’re all unfortunately in the same spot as last year: we all want to turn off our TVs before the Habs games are over.

At least youngsters like Slafkovsky, Caufield, Suzuki, Hutson and Guhle are making progress. Lucky them…

What’s next?
Since a number of Habs executives told Pierre LeBrun, Elliotte Friedman and Frank Seravalli that the Canadiens were looking for reinforcements on the blue line (right-handed defenseman), up front (sturdy forward) and in front of the net (experienced goaltender), I agree that no, Habs management isn’t satisfied with their team’s start to the season. They were hoping for better. Which confirms, in my opinion, that it wasn’t just a P.R. move to talk about being in the mix…

There’s a storm brewing around the Canadiens right now, and we’d all like it to stop. The Habs first!

I’m pretty sure Martin St-Louis and his bosses didn’t see their team throwing up all over themselves when they made projections in September.

Since we can’t lower expectations once they’ve been clearly established, Hughes and Gorton will have to find reinforcements, elsewhere or in Laval…

Martin St-Louis will have to adjust his defensive system and start hard coaching. We’re going to have to get rid of the veterans who’ve run out of steam. Otherwise, the culture instilled in the youngsters won’t be the right one…

And the guys are going to have to start playing in a more structured way. And with more conviction and determination…

Because right now, the Canadiens are like the ti-gars who are aiming for 60% on their report card, but got 30% and 40% on their first try. He’s going to have to start studying and stop foxing when it’s sunny in the afternoon (and he has math, French, science or English classes)…

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Martin St-Louis made his boys sweat

Today, the Canadiens had a practice on the menu.

But several minutes before taking to the ice, the club announced that veteran defenseman David Savard would be enjoying a day of treatments in preparation for practice.

It happens a lot to veterans… and yesterday, the Habs were facing shots from Alex Ovechkin. He blocked a few shots.

Obviously, we were all anxious to see how the guys would react after yesterday’s tough game. Was practice going to be intense for Martin St-Louis’ men?

Clearly, the answer is yes. Patrick Friolet reports that defensive retreats were at the heart of practice, and that they got the guys skating.

We also note that Martin St-Louis had his men skate without the pucks a little later. And it wasn’t because the equipment manager had picked up the pucks too quickly, we agree.

So the coach made his guys skate and sweat.

Yesterday, Martin St-Louis talked about vomit to illustrate his displeasure… and this lunchtime, he arranged for the guys to maybe be afraid to throw up a little. He’s probably still angry.

Is that hard coaching I see on the horizon?

Overtime

– What’s your answer?

– Please note.

– CF Montreal: best youth core in all of MLS.

– Still, intense.

– Of course.

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Cayden Primeau: “If this keeps up, you’ll put him in the waivers”

Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images

There are a number of clear observations to be made about the Montreal Canadiens’ performance so far this season.

The one that stands out the most is, of course, the fact that the team is giving up far too many goals.

Only two NHL teams – the Habs’ opponents tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks – have allowed as many or more goals than the Habs this season.

The Habs have allowed 47 in 11 games, the Penguins 49 in 12 games and the Sharks 47 in 12 games.

In short, it’s clear that Martin St-Louis’s troupe is scoring far too many goals against.

And this is obviously due to defensive shortcomings in a messy, complicated system, but also to the more-than-ordinary performances of the goaltenders.

Apart from Samuel Montembeault’s incredible start to the season, the Habs’ two goalkeepers (Montembeault and Cayden Primeau) don’t often give their team a chance to win, or at least don’t save their defenders’ mistakes.

This leads us to believe that the Habs are currently paying a high price for their goaltenders, and that if things continue to go this way, one of them could end up being Primeau.

In fact, according to Stu Cowan, if Primeau’s situation continues, he should be placed in the waivers.

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Indeed, the hockey analyst made it clear during his appearance on The Sick Podcast recently, when he made it clear that for him, it can’t go on like this.

If Primeau doesn’t deliver the goods and doesn’t give his team a chance to win, he has to be sent to the waivers.

Cowan then adds that yes, it’s a risk, but in the end, if the Habs lose him, well, they lose him and that’s it.

He’s clearly out of patience with Primeau, and for him, it takes an electroshock.

Cowan also explained that, personally, he would have put Primeau in the waivers last year, in order to keep Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault with the Habs.

For him, losing Allen, an experienced veteran who brought a lot of positive energy to the dressing room, was a mistake.

Primeau has never really delivered consistently in the NHL, and it doesn’t look like that’s about to change.

It’s a shame, but that’s life, and for real, the Habs could get by without Primeau, whereas in the AHL right now, the Laval Rocket can count on an excellent goaltending duo.

Jakub Dobes and Connor Hughes have taken the team on their backs, and are largely responsible for the Rocket’s excellent start to the season (7-1-0).

And let’s not forget Jacob Fowler, who is simply dominant in the NCAA.

In short, all this remains to be seen, but frankly, it’s fair to say that patience is wearing thin in Primeau’s case.

Overtime

– Congratulations!

– Indeed.

– Read more.

– To watch in the MLB.

– Too bad.

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