Bruins/Habs 2009 Playoffs: Game 4

Historically, the numbers say there’s a 1.3% chance the Canadiens come back and win this series.

What are the chances they even win one game?

Is this the last time we see certain players? Long time Habs, long gone?

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20 Comments

#1 Mats Naslund says:
April 22, 2009 at 1:14 pm

Not great chances for tonight. All season long we’ve seen that Boston is able to withstand whatever pressure the Canadiens attempt to put on and respond with timely goals. That doesn’t bode well for this evening. We’ve seen ll kinds of fight, but it seems to be in the books.

I would like to add a little dose of reality for the idea that Montreal is going to somehow change drastically for next season. Given cap uncertainty, and the lack of genuine FAs at the positions the Canadiens need help with, Montreal is FAR more likely to spend the summer re-signing than chasing new targets. We have all been dragged through the Lecavalier mud all season long, so I for one will believe it when I see it. If you look at the list of FA centres, there are very few available names that could make an impact. See for yourselves http://www.sportscity.com/nhl/2009-nhl-unrestricted-free-agents-by-position/. Now that Johan Franzen is off of the list, I would argue that Koivu is the best remaining option at the position. Considering that, a move away from Lang and Plex would also be sideways moves. Unless Gainey decides to move already signed assets to shake up his roster (which is unlikely since those who are under contract are relatively cheap options), then we will see a similar squad next year.

On wing there might be a few more options, but given how many teams will be chasing o few players, it is very difficult to chase down impact players. The Habs success has come in developing young players from within the system who can grow into the superstars of the league. At least that was the plan until this season. Terrible seasons from many young players combined with a host of injury problems and unrealistic expectations have sunk this year’s squad. While I would love to see the Canadiens land the type of player who could lead us to the top of the league, it i crucial that the young players be given the opportunity to take the reigns of this team. Boston is a perfect example of how things can change quickly in the NHL, if we’ve already forgotten our own transformation last season.

#2 groundworking says:
April 22, 2009 at 7:07 pm

Demers said tonight that some of the players on the Habs have an issue with Price’s attitude.

#3 Joseph says:
April 22, 2009 at 11:09 pm

One final parting note…

I just watched highlights which included the Bruins’ commentators and I can honestly say that I now understand your pain, MN. They are without a doubt the most ridiculous, classless, disrespectful sports commentators I’ve ever listened to in all my life, in any sport. It’s no wonder that so many Bruins fans adopt the personalties of disgruntled children given the poison that pours into their ears during Bruins telecasts. It’s really rather pathetic.

#4 MarcusNyce says:
April 23, 2009 at 2:37 am

Worst. Season. Ever.

#5 ghcharp says:
April 23, 2009 at 7:27 pm

Did anyone else notice that all the goals scored against Price were stick side half way up. I think all Bruin players know it and thats where they were shooting. What the hell was wrong with going with Halak for the last game.

#6 Ray77 says:
April 24, 2009 at 10:16 am

Come on, have you actually watched a game of the Bruins from theior commentators? Do you know who the commentators are? They are Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley. THE SAME TO GUYS WHO CALL ALL NHL GAMES FOR .VS channel. Andy B played for the B’s in the 80s and 90s, including th 92 sweep team.

The Radio, I agree that Dave Gosher is awful, but his color guy is Bob Beers, another Bruin player from the 80s.

They don’t spout ****. You’re just angry you lost and they pointed out Hab weaknesses, which there were, or you wouldn’t have lost. Sure they ripped apart Komecerik for this cheap shot at the end of Game 4, but ofcourse you didn’t see them do the same on Lucic in Game 2 because you weren’t watching then. A sound bite is no way to judge anyone.

#7 Ray77 says:
April 24, 2009 at 10:17 am

If you want to listen to the B’s on the radio, 1030 on the AM dial or the internet, Try listening for 1 period and then give me an honest response.

#8 Ray77 says:
April 24, 2009 at 10:21 am

Yes, 1030 AM WBZ does make it to Montreal in the night time. I’ve listened to games from there, and as far west as Chicago in the night time.
bostonbruins.com audio feed in WBZ.

#9 Senet1 says:
April 26, 2009 at 8:41 pm

I had a leafs fan and a Bruins fan rubbing it in the other day after we went out four straight. The only thing I could say is over my life time I have watched my habs win the cup 18 times, how many times have you watched your team win? We had a set back this year to our long ranch plan, but nevertheless our plan is still in place. I truely believe that when the league changed the rules that Management felt that the more physical teams would be the ones penalized the most but instead of making the game easier for the small player to compete they started with the phantum penalty calls that most of us see as minor touching of the opponent with your stick or body. I think this is where our management did not foresee just how this game would be called especially come playoff time. The game is still a big mans game and that is the direction we have to take our team. The small skilled buy can still play but he needs to have the more physical guys on the team to support him and he cannot be a *****.

#10 Senet1 says:
April 26, 2009 at 8:50 pm

Final, thought, I wonder how well Boston would have done without Chara and Wideman not on defense and Savard and Bergeron missing up front.

Lets face it, and I not saying we would have won the series, but I bet it would not have been 4-0. If we had Lang, Tanguay, Markov and Schneider in the lineup for the entire series, I think we would still be playing.

Signing off for a while but will stay in touch.

#11 Senet1 says:
April 26, 2009 at 8:56 pm

Buffalo come a close second. It is like a Bud Linch years gone by (Detroit) makeover.

It is one thing to be partial towards your team, but really lets try to see the game for what it really is.

#12 Mats Naslund says:
April 27, 2009 at 1:17 am

Once again ray, it would be alot easier to take you seriously if you knew where the discussion of Brickley and Edwards came from. You can read back through many of the posts for this season, but you’d rather jump to conclusions and assume its about an isolated occasion. I’ve said many times that these two are capable of calling a good game. I’ve seen them both do games for other teams. Brickley does a great job with the Beanpot etc. Unfortunately they call Bruins games which makes for terrible hockey coverage because they are fans of the team. Yes I’m a Canadiens fan, but I watch all NHL teams. That means every game I watched in which the Bruins played I saw the NESN coverage. These two fanboys call every game from the perspective of the Bruins fan (which is fine if you want to hear your own garbage), but terrible if you prefer to have an announcer describe reality unfolding infront of him. I can’t stand hearing a guy talk about refs and all of the missed calls, and opposing teams in a derogatory fashion. Its not just about the Habs-Bruins – its every game, and unfortunately for me I will be proven right anytime I want to watch the bruins because of the NHL’s blackout restrictions that stop those of us in the Bruins market from receiving the feeds from CBC and elsewhere.

Again, these two are terrible. I always thought hearing Joe Bowen was painful, but these guys take the cake. The reason is that they call the games for a team they love. The best in the business give up allegiances and just call the game because they love it. I enjoy Brickley’s analysis when the Bruins aren’t involved..

#13 Joseph says:
April 27, 2009 at 5:38 am

Well, I was going to say something about extremely biased broadcasting, but there you have it. The same could be said for Paul Steigerwald in Pittsburgh, incidentally – a yinzer fanboy through and through. Unbearable to listen to.

As to the assumption that I’m angry over the Habs’ swift playoff exit, it’s an inaccurate one. All things considered, I, like many Habs fans, fully expected the Habs to lose efficiently. As has been stated, they were without Lang (leading goal scorer with 18 prior to his injury near mid-season), Tanguay (whose presence provided the Habs one of the best first lines in hockey over the final stretch), Markov (second only to Kovalev in team scoring) and Schneider (powerplay quarterback). But injuries aside, this team had been downright terrible for the entire second half of the season. So not much anger at all from my end. By the time the playoffs rolled around, I was watching with a sense of amusement. In fact, I was of the opinion that the Habs didn’t deserve to be in the playoffs at all this season.

Anyway, for the record, I am familiar with Brickley and Edwards and I’ve never liked the coverage on versus. It’s stale. And when the Bruins are involved, it’s biased. So I don’t watch.

But back to my original point…

‘… Bruins handed ‘em a broom for their 100th birthday…’ and ‘… melt the ice, scrape off the logo and turn out the lights on your way out…’ aren’t pointing out the Habs’ weaknesses. No, that’d be nothing more than a potent mix of homerism and sour grapes, which is no surprise given the fact that the Bruins have, well, let’s be completely honest here, been the Habs’ b*tch throughout most of their history.

Horrid broadcasting.

Having said all that, good for the Bruins. They have to win sometimes. Otherwise it’s not much of a rivalry at all, is it?

#14 Joseph says:
April 27, 2009 at 5:41 am

I must commend you though, Ray. This was a big step up from the usual ‘The Price was wrong’ and ‘I wonder when the cheapshots will start’ rubbish which you spewed redundantly on this blog throughout the four game series. Well done!

#15 Mats Naslund says:
April 27, 2009 at 11:06 am

My personal favorite came at the expense of Kovalev. Edwards asked redundantly, (I’m paraphrasing here) “Where has Kovalev gone? Cam Neeley would never have been this invisible in a playoff game” – Kovalev scored less than 5 seconds after the comment. Neeley never won a cup – Kovalev has, not to mention that Kovalev has more playoff points and 3 points in 4 games this time around.

I also loved earlier in the season how angry they got about Alex Henry fighting with Thornton. They said that Henry was called up for one purpose and wouldn’t take another shift. They bashed him for doing the same thing that makes Thornton his money, and never mentioned the fact that Henry played a regular shift through the game and ended up with 10 minutes ice time. They said some really insulting things about him. Just another example of the pointless, unprofessional drivel that comes from these guys when they call a game. You would never hear Jim Hughson or Doc Emerick go after a player personally like that. That being said, when they call games without the Bruins, they don’t go to that level.

#16 Joseph says:
April 28, 2009 at 2:28 am

Another gem. Ironically, Cam Neeley missed quite a few post-season games as a result of, ironically, a devastating hit by now Bruin Mark Recchi in the 1991 playoffs. I’ll never forget it. Neeley tried to take a cheap shot at Lemieux after the whistle and Recchi came barreling in like a freight train from the blue line and thoroughly planted him in Neverland. The crowd fell silent as they looked on in shock. Not a single boo, just the dead quiet of humbled masses. A Bruin’s hat fell somewhere in the upper bowl and echoed throughout the Garden as it hit the floor. Cartoon Penguins circled Neeley’s shrunken head as he came to and was helped off the ice and out of the series, followed shortly thereafter by the rest of his teammates.

That was when men not only played this game but called it. There was no penalty on the play.

#17 Ray77 says:
April 29, 2009 at 3:52 pm

I am a true fan of the game, and not just a troll here to wreak havoc. I have been staying up until 1 am watching the west coast games, (driving my wife nuts), and played the game for years.. My 7 year old middle DAUGHTER plays hockey.. (Sorry, 3 girls, no boys). I’m here because I respect the Canadiens.. Can’t say the same for either Florida team, or even the Coyotes, (Even with Gretzky). Since the sold out and left Winnipeg.. My all time favorite games to watch when I was younger were the Quebec Nordiques v. Bruins.. The Stasneys V. Bourque was always fun…

#18 Joseph says:
May 9, 2009 at 4:28 pm

I, too, am a true fan of the game. Just not the NHL version, or should I say perversion, of it.

#19 Joseph says:
May 9, 2009 at 8:36 pm

“Well, Mr. NHL Corporation Marketing Division Manager, everything has gone to plan. We’ve got Crosby and Ovechkin deadlocked in a thrilling two-two tie in the Easter Conference Semi-Final series. And further… just a sec… Wow, I’ve just received word, Sir, that Washington has just scored to even Game Five at one goal apiece, and in the second period no less. Yes, very exciting indeed, Sir. A real nail biter. What’s that? Oh, yes, they played the police siren that you love after the goal. And you’ll also be very pleased to know that Mr. Johnson is in top form tonight. His circus announcing lessons have really paid off. He really compliments the motif we’re shooting for. What’s that? Oh, no I don’t actually have the game on, Sir–not really all that interested in watching myself–but my top guys are on it and reporting back to me on every minute of our conversation here, so we’re good. We’re better than good, we’re gold, Sir. Just like this series. Pure gold. And… Sorry, Sir? Oh, yes, of course. We’ve got big plans for the Anaheim-Detroit series. What an underdog story we’ve got in the makes there. I can only imagine how the fans will enjoy that one, Sir, with Anaheim eventually pushing Detroit to seven games. Oh, yes, it’s covered, so no worries, big guy. The officials know the deal. We’re good. Did I say we’re good? I meant we’re gold.”

#20 stevehab says:
May 31, 2009 at 6:42 pm

As I’ve said before, the final four teams ij contention for teh Cup had one thing in common… they fought through adversity and didn’t quit. Now that it’s down to the Pens and Wings a few things stand out. 1. excellent goaltending by both Fleury and Osgood. 2. Both teams’ ‘superstars’ are playing up to ther billing. 3. Did you see how the Pens sucked it up and skated, hit and played with lots of grit IN DETROIT. That takes guts… which both of these teams have an abundance of. 4. Both teams are dedicate to playing a system that their coach(es) have put in place. Detroit is by far the best passng team in the league adn the Pens are also moving the puck very well which gets the team out of trouble and turns the play around quickly and efficiently.

Habs management… please take note!!!