Sporting Observations: Les Glorieux!
All hail the Montreal Canadiens, for they have slain the dragon. Last night in DC, the Habs became the ninth team since 1994 to eliminate the number one seed in the first round by beating Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals in Game Seven by a score of 2-1 in front of 19,000 shocked fans.
But that simple description doesn’t do Montreal’s historic accomplishment justice. Think about it like this: the Capitals were the President’s Trophy winners, having the league’s best regular season record. So they weren’t just the #1 seed in the East; effectively, they were the #1 seed overall. The Canadiens, on the other hand, squeaked into the playoffs with 88 points – tied with the 7th-seeded Flyers, but sitting below them in the #8 slot. Of the 16 clubs making the tournament, the Habs would effectively be ranked 16th. So the #16 knocked off the #1 – something that’s never happened in the NCAA men’s tournament, by means of comparison.
The Habs’ achievement is even more impressive when you consider the fact that they came back from a 3-1 series deficit to win it all, just the second time in Montreal’s storied, 101-year-long history they’ve done so. Not only did they win three straight, facing elimination each time, two of those wins were on the road. In fact, three of the Habs’ four wins were on the road – mind-blowing when you consider that the Capitals had the league’s best home record. Just makes you realize how different the playoffs are from the regular campaign – and how much DC benefited from beating up on Southeastern softies all year.
It’d be fucked up not to mention the magic of Jaroslav Halak. The man was a beast for the Canadiens, stopping 42 shots while his team put up just 16. I was even getting text messages from my non-hockey-watching people marvelling at the man’s impression of a stone wall. And it’d be even more fucked up not to mention my dude Tony Tanti, manager of Death Adders Fantasy Hockey League team Laraque Obama and the biggest Habs fan I know. He’s probably pretty hungover this morning, but it’s worth revisiting his comment on my playoff preview post from a couple weeks back:
nice picks, but i’ll have to disagree with the choice of the Caps over the Habs. OK i am a terrible habs fan, but i actually think this one will go to 7 games, and it could go either way. Canadiens record vs Capitals this year, 2-1-1, pretty solid for a 8th place team… and Halak already got Ovy once during the Olympics, why not twice.
Tony, you called it, homie. Last night he sent me an email:
Yo Caps,
I really needed to send you an e-mail after this BIG win over the Caps! Not much to say other then… HAAAALAK!!!
Sucks though that your Sabres are out already, I would of love the Halak-Miller showdown. Too bad they got there asses kicked by the B’s.
Enjoy the golf…
Yeah, too bad indeed. My Sabres got their faces shanked by Tuukka Rask’s Bruins. Deplorable. I have been drinking. But as My Pal the Crook noted on Twitter yesterday, at least now his Devils and the Sabres have company in their misery. Gonna be a long fucking off-season.
Round two in the West is gonna be a blast. Round two in the East? I dunno. Bruins-Flyers? Jesus Christ. More on all that later.
- Caps
April 29th, 2010 at 11:24 am
How do you not mention that dissallowed goal? I have to agree with Bruce Boudreau. Knuble had barley any contact with Halak and definitely not enough to impede him.
April 29th, 2010 at 11:26 am
Fast forward to the 5:30 mark of the clip.
April 29th, 2010 at 11:39 am
Wrong clip – that’s Moore scoring the gamewinner.
How do I not mention it? Because I don’t want to give those bandwagon Caps fans anything to hang their hats on. When you go 1-33 on the power-play in the series, you deserve to lose. Even if I can see the argument about the goal – and I’ll grant you that I can – it shouldn’t have come down to that.
April 29th, 2010 at 11:52 am
I updated the clip. I’m not saying the Caps didn’t deserve to lose… but that was still a wrong call and come next year, hell next week! I bet there’s a rule change that all interference calls need to go to Toronto for video review.
April 29th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
I can’t believe the Habs pulled it off! And I respect the ref’s decision to call off that goal, he felt that Halak got interfered with, a fair call in my mind. This Canadiens team reminds me of the Canucks in 94, super underdogs and coming back from a 3-1 deficit, big moves. I just hope that the Canadiens take those flightless birds down in the next round. And as far as the my Canucks go they’re going to hit the Hawks with avengence after last years outcome, it’s going to be crazy!!
On a different note, I’ve been missing the fear of the 12th planet column, can’t wait for the next one!
April 29th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
That the Habs knocked of the Caps is certainly impressive and maybe technically unprecedented (I suppose a #16 has never knocked off a #1, but a #15 has, and a #16 has knocked off a #2). The comparison to the NCAA tournament, however, is disingenuous. It’s true, a #16 seed has never won a game in the men’s tournament, but that means a team ranked between 61-64 has never beaten a team ranked 1-4. A few times though, a #15 seed has knocked off a #2, meaning a team ranked 57-60 knocked off a team ranked 5-8.
April 29th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
a good round 1 to the playoffs.
Devils: does MPtc think Kovalchuk will sign with Jersey? any sentiments on Lemaire resigning?
Sabres: sad to see Miller go early. with Tyler Myers and Duchene out, could Jimmy Howard steal the Calder with a round 2 victory?
Pitt: will Crosby ever falter? go habs go! ole ole!
April 29th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Point taken and thanks for the comment. However, I’d argue that the comparison isn’t disingenuous so much as inexact, in the way that comparisons of different things necessarily are sometimes. Disingenuous has a certain pejorative sense, and I wasn’t trying to deceive, just offering an interesting perspective.
April 29th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
rn: I think if Howard makes it to the Finals then he becomes the Calder favorite, for sure. Maybe even the conference finals. But I think Sharks take em.
April 29th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Depends on if Kovalchuk want’s a legit shot at the post-season or just a lucrative contract. If it’s a cup, he doesn’t have many option between playoff caliber teams that can fit 7-8 mill a season under the cap. There’s the Devils, Kings, who else? If he wants 10 mill per then I think his best option is the KHL or another team in Atlanta’s position. But being he’s one of only 3 Devils who showed up and played hard every game of the series I think he wants to win and not just a paycheck. But who knows? I don’t know if the Devils will re-sign him and Lou probably won’t know until at least the draft which way they’re leaning. NJ has the unique ability to offer a good fanbase, a winning pedigree and a lack of intense media pressure of a major market. He may like that. Plus he even though they got eliminated he was really embraced by the fans and I can’t help but think NJ is starting to finally come around to the fact that they may need a gate attraction also.
I think the Devils bigger question to answer before they focus on Kovalchuk is what happened to Langenbrunner in the last month+ of the season. Despite being unproductive, he also wasn’t acting like a Captain which is the much bigger issue. He’s an expiring contract and at his maximum trade value… maybe he needs a change of scenery and waves his NTC so the devils can swap him for a center or offensive defenseman like Kaberle? If Parise is the captain in waiting why prolong the inevitable when they just had a leadership collapse and need to shake the locker room up?
As for Lemaire retiring, I’m fine with it. As much as the players didn’t bother to show up for the series, Lemaire and the coaching staff did nothing to a) fire the team up or b) adjust to the Flyers game plan. They kept doing them same thing (like on the Power Play) over and over and over even though it clearly wasn’t working. The Flyers clearly figured out long ago the whole umbrella formation-pass to Kovalchuk play… Why not try something different?
I actually was expecting Lemaire to be fired the next day after the game 4 loss with Lou taking over behind the bench. They desperately needed a shake up and some fire and like Langenbrunner, Lemaire just didn’t seem to have it in him to provide it during the series.
April 29th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Mike Green was the main reason the habs pulled it off. Stupid penalty led to the first goal and he got burned on the second. How he is nominated for a Norris is beyond me. GO SHARKS TONIGHT
April 29th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
This Washington Post article was mentioned on Puck Daddy today and I think a good analogy for the Capitals style of play. Comparing it to NBA “Run and Gun” teams who despite being really exciting and fun to watch have never won a championship with the style.
April 29th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Caps, at least one of your predictions is right, I am hungover…But i’m not the only one, probably this vid will give you an idea of what it look like a couple of block from the bell center.
Just imagine if we get through the 2nd round.
April 29th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
I can’t decide if I want to root for the Bruins or the Sharks. Which is the lesser of the two evils? Maybe the Sharks, cause then it can give hope to all the one and done teams out there wallowing in their misery.
April 29th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
mptc: i was interested to hear what the buzz in Devils fanbase over Kovalchuk’s performance. sounds like you’re happy with him. i heard ‘boos’ during the final minutes of game 5 when Kovy touched the puck. The announcers were claiming it was Flyers fans booing, but they already had the game in hand during the final minutes so i thought it was disgruntled Devils fans getting on Kovy. Scott Laughlin from NHL’s ‘Power Play’ Show was certain in his opinion that Kovy would not be back and that Kings were the likeliest candidates. If he resigns elsewhere, feels like Devils gave up a lot for a 2-month rental that didn’t deliver. Ryan Smyth still gets booed at the Nassau Coliseum when he touches the puck. bitter memories and Isles didnt give up too much.
i was wrong about the Calder. it’s for regular season play only. The award isn’t announced until the Vegas ceremony show on June 23. So maybe Myers sealed it up already. Previous Sabres winners (’84 Tom Barrasso and ’71 Gilbert Perreault). Previous Devils (’00 Scott Gomez and ’94 Brodeur).
i’m only glad to see the Sabres and Devils out because that means all games are broadcast on VS/NBC in HD. MSG blocks HD broadcast in this area for non-Cablevision customers. how the teams and league allow that practice to stand is beyond me. The game looks so good in HD.
April 29th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
I was at game 5, I didn’t hear anyone boo Kovalchuk. He, Zubrus and Brodeur were the only players trying hard every shift. As I said in my post when they traded for him the Devils didn’t give up too much for him. What they gave up was a totally worthwhile gamble to try and get the Cup even if he leaves after the season. He is nowhere at fault for the team getting eliminated. He was the team’s top scorer in the series and as I said already, brought it every shift.
Again what did the devils give up? A secondary scorer who’s upside is 60pt player? You don;t follow the Devils so I don’t blame you for not knowing that it took Bergfors 5 years to crack the team. He was close to the player he was ever going to be in his rookie season.They have 4 wingers in the system ready to make the team in the next year or two who will put up the same sort of numbers and all have higher ceilings (Zharkov, Vasyunov, Halischuk and Tenedby). Oduya and his contract were great to just be rid of and Cormier played his way out of the organization the second he swung his elbow.
And as for Scott Laughlin I’m sure he also was certain that the Caps would be playing for the Cup. He has zero inside info. None of us do.
April 29th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
don’t be so hard on your former players, mptc!
Which included the 4th highest scoring rookie this year, a chippy prospect who was named captain of the Canadian 2010 WJC team, a Swedish Olympian defenseman and – now – a middle 1st round draft pick. that’s something for a guy who may have ‘brought it every shift’ but only scored twice in the series (ranking 33rd in the league Round 1 playoffs). I wouldn’t fault him for the elimination, but more goals were expected than 2 to be the team’s top scorer. He was also called for a couple bad penalties for bringing it every shift.
i didn’t mean to imply that Laughlin had insider info. I merely stated he was confident in his “opinion” (i don’t know who he predicted to win the Cap series – which isn’t really the same as predicting the likelihood of a player signing). Typically, the only people i know who think Kovy has a chance of signing with NJ are devils fans. From what i’ve read, many writers/analysts think NJ wont agree to the money and/or length of contract that Kovy’s reported to be seeking. This week’s news that the Devils lost money this year doesn’t bode well for them breaking the bank with Ilya.
on a lighter note, these NHL “History Will be Made” commercial spoofs are getting out of hand.
April 30th, 2010 at 10:19 am
I take back my comments (previous hockey post) about America and Americans not having as much passion for hockey as Canada. What I have seen so far in the first round has shown me that this sport is just as important for you as it is for us.
I wonder why Montreal chose to review their disallowed goal but Washington didn’t?
Well it’s all over now and we have the Pens to look forward to. Another tough team. If we can beat the Pens in the next round I think Montreal will make it to the cup this year.
Make me proud boys.
April 30th, 2010 at 10:20 am
Rob,
Most analysts don’t really keep up with Devils coverage or watch the team. I’m not saying this as a NJ fan, it’s the truth. There’s reason why their prospects have been continually ranked in the bottom of the league yet they churn out more NHL ready players than any other team, OR why anytime someone whose name they recognize leaves the team (Gomez, Gionta, Madden, Holik) they spell doom and not making the play-offs for the Devils. They do that because they don’t actually follow the team and have no sense of the real picture and roster make up.
Now I, who make it part of my routine to visit not only Devil fan blogs, but various reporters blogs on a daily basis (even now in their off season) can tell the team isn’t operating in the same closed off smoke and mirror manner it always had. Sure they still don’t let much slip to the media and try to play their cards close, but it’s a lot easier to read between the lines with the team then it ever has been.
The fact that they lost money this season isn’t an ominous sign at all. They just built a new arena, the way they make their money back is by going deeper into the playoffs, merch sales and more sell-out games during the regular season. Kovalchuk helped bring sell-outs to the team ever since his arrival. The fact that Devils owner Vanderbeek has even started speaking to the media more regularly signals to me that NJ may finally be ready to spend for a gate attraction to ensure the team starts profiting rather then going into a conservative spending mode.
They just built a stadium on a gamble that in 5-10 years with continued success they could hopefully start rivaling the Rangers in revenue. And they’ve finally started investing in actual marketing campaigns. They’re not going to back away from that now. I’m sure the higher ups knew full well that an early play-off exit meant they didn’t turn a profit this season before the puck even dropped for the first time in 09.
I honestly have no clue if Ilya stays… but I’m fully confident that the team will make a reasonable offer to him (7-8per), and then it’s really on him if he wants to be here or not which i’d say is 50/50.
April 30th, 2010 at 10:23 am
Chuck P: Player interference with a goalie is not a reviewable offense.
April 30th, 2010 at 11:27 am
rn: Yeah, found that out too late yesterday. Thanks for posting up the correction here. Myers may indeed already have it sewn. I would have been pissed had it gone to Howard, anyways – dude’s 26 and has kicked around the AHL for years. I know he’s technically eligible but I’ve made the case for a couple months now that he shouldn’t be.
You see the “history will be made” spoof with Danny Briere and the beachball? Brutal!
April 30th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
took me a few tries to find the Briere video. beachball and briere is not searchable in utubeland. Crook will not enjoy that one, but there’s a Lindros-Scott Stevens spoof that evens that score up: “what if Lindros kept his head up”
crook, i’m only rooting for a Kovalchuk departure becuase i’m sick of the Devils winning so many Atlantic Division titles. A game at The Rock with their team is usually a great NHL experience – in my view the best in ny/nj market. the rangers are good experience but i can’t stomach the fans. and my poor Isles have so many areas of improvement that it can seem hopeless between Coliseum, owner and management – at least they have a path to follow now. For the similar sourgrape reasons, i wish Tavares didn’t slump for 3 months to lose out on the Calder to Myers and Duchene. Or that the Isles didn’t trade down twice in ’08 to pick Josh Bailey at 9 when Myers could have been for the taking (albeit, all of which i’m currently viewing in clear hindsight)
April 30th, 2010 at 3:27 pm
Woulda added the link but felt disrespectful to Crook on his own turf, haha.
“the rangers are good experience but i can’t stomach the fans.”
Jesus christ, no kidding. Those idiots are the worst.
Sabres traded up with the Kings to get Myers at 13. Believe it or not I actually watched that draft on TV; VS carried it.
Bailey had himself a good little year though, no?
April 30th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
I’m rooting for the Isles to just leave Nassau and come over to the Atlantic Yards. I’ve never had a thing against the Islanders and actually followed them along with (although not as close to/0 the Devils during Lafontaine to Turgeon to Palffy eras.
April 30th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
You guys probably heard this already, but what the hell:
Sidney Crosby walks into a bar and orders an “Ovechkin.” Bartender says “I don’t know what that is, pal.” Sid says “It’s easy: A white Russian without a Cup.”
April 30th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
a zinger bartender joke!
the latest Isles/Coliseum wackiness involves turning the property into a Shinnecock Indian reservation for gambling & entertaintment (incuding hockey). So wacky, i cant believe the local newspaper Newsday prints the headlines on the front page and so unbelievable that Bettman/nhl is unavailabe to comment.
Bailey has glimpses of promise. Yet on any other team, he would probably still be in the AHL. very soft on the forecheck, easily injured & too often passes instead of shooting. gets streaky but then fades within a week or two, not a high-pressure player… yet young enough to hold out hope. Tavares, Moulson, Okposo and Streit will lead the team. goalie situation needs to be addressed – finally and emphatically. More likely would move to Queens than Brooklyn given the real estate prospects which is what the owner seems most interested in acquiring. likely stuck in Nassau til 2015 lease expiration so still too soon to anticpate a departure from Nassau/Long Island. would be a shame to let a 4-cup dynstasy franchise move elsewhere.
April 30th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
Jesus!
2 loses in one game… Markov is out! doesn`t look like he’ll be back!
And Halak wasn`t at his best. I really want the habs to win but this is going to be god damn hard.
May 13th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
[...] the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens dispatched the President’s Trophy-winning Washington Capitals in seven games. For their next act, which concluded in a lopsided 5-2 victory last night, the Habs [...]