The week that was....

Lots of things to talk about this week so I’ll get right to it.

Here’s my in-depth analysis of this weeks’ games,

Montreal versus Atlanta – yuck

Montreal versus New Jersey – double yuck, and in the words of Forrest Gump, “that’s all I have to say about that”.

Musings …..

I really don’t know what to make of our team, some days I’m on a high, thinking they’re doing great and every other day I feel totally deflated. The inconsistent play is taking its toll on me. I know they’ve had a lot of injuries to work through and have weathered them pretty well, but in reality I’ve only seen them play about 5 solid games of hockey this season, is that all they’re capable of?

At the end of last season, they were really on a roll, but ran out of steam early in the first round against Boston. They finally managed to put Boston away in game seven and once again I was on a bit of a high, I was hoping they had their groove back and they would dispose of Philadelphia in five or six games, but they quickly fell back into mediocrity. Exactly the same pattern that we’re seeing right now, one or two good games then back to crap. Guy Carbonneau has commented that the team found it really tough going in last year’s playoff run. So is what we’re seeing this year some kind of strategy to conserve energy until playoff time when it really counts?

Obviously losing isn’t part of that strategy, but maybe putting in a minimum effort to win is. I really don’t know, but I’ll tell you one thing, if they keep this up they’ll be the most energized team come April and maybe that’s part of the plan. In the meantime, I would really appreciate just seeing them regularly play some decent hockey instead of the half assed effort that they’ve been putting out most of the time. Hopefully once Higgins and Tanguay return that line will bring some much needed spark, but I’m not holding my breath. Sigh, the agony of being a Habs fan…never a dull moment.

The Montreal Canadiens, 100 years, 100 stars -

I tuned into CBC last night for the one hour Habs special, it was well worth watching, I especially enjoyed seeing the old footage of Montreal, but being a lifetime Montrealer, it was also bittersweet; this city used to be hopping before the mass exodus down the 401 in l976.

In spite of that, the love this province has for our Habs has managed to transcend race, language and a city that has been plagued with political unrest for the past 30 years. That’s how important they are, the only thing that unites us. It was an eye opener for me realizing how far reaching that love is, the Habs logo can be spotted all over the world and it’s one of the few things that makes me feel proud to be a Quebecer .

Oh, and the one other thing this province has is great cheese, in my opinion the only city that can beat us is Paris. It’s a challenge when you travel, no Habs on TV and lousy cheese. This year I have a solution for our trip in April, I can tune into CJAD with my laptop for my beloved Habs (could be a Godsend, hearing instead of watching them suck is more palatable) and we’ve decided to pack a small cooler full of cheese to bring with us to the Caymans. I can picture it now, sitting outside our villa, looking out over the ocean watching the sunset, sipping on a glass of wine, nibbling on a piece of Pont Leveque, listening to my boys beating the crap out of Boston, Philly or Washington. Sheer bliss, it really doesn’t get any better..am I there yet??

The skills competition –

I was somewhat surprised that Vinnie got the loudest cheers from the crowd, even over Kovy and Price. Silly me, it’s Habs fans we’re talking about here, what kind of message do they think they’re sending to the current team? Not exactly a morale booster, that’s for sure.

I wouldn’t have voted for Ovechkin in the breakaway contest, Getzlaf would have been my pick, but I guess wearing a hat and shades gets you brownie points. Whatever. Gotta love that clip they showed of him giving out his cell phone number to the public, trying to get a date. It struck me that maybe he has to do that, seriously folks for all his talent and millions I wouldn’t have him in a lucky bag and I’m well past my sell by date. He’s in dire need of a makeover; he’s so unkempt he looks like a homeless hockey player. I wonder if he packs his gear in shopping bags. His jersey is half tucked in, even his bright yellow skate laces stick out like a sore thumb, and they don’t match his uniform. I’m sure he could spare some change to get a front tooth and maybe buy a razor. He should take some grooming lessons from Sid the kid.

The crowd still loves my boy Shelly, and really, what’s not to like? He’s still a good interview and he does seem to have at least a couple of brain cells to go along with his good looks. Too bad he didn’t smoke Chara in the hardest shot, oh well there’s always next year.

Kudos to Shane Doan on the shootout competition although I was rooting for Kovy. Tim Thomas is like an elephant in a china shop, but he gets the job done.

I’m glad Price just went through the motions in the sophomore/rookie exhibition game, if he re-injures himself he’ll be raked over the coals, and rightly so, it’s team first above all else.

The All Star game -

How much fun was that? A great venue to showcase talent, veritable dream teams.

I like the comments Claude Julien made when asked about coaching alongside Guy, he said they were having fun hanging out, but Guy kept his desk locked. I guess Guy was just being cautious, God forbid the enemy gets a peek at our playoff plans.

It was really neat how quickly our team gelled, I guess talent supersedes chemistry. Carey did an admirable job in the first, but it all went to hell in a hand basket when Lundquist took over. No worries, we still managed to pull it off. Kovy ! Kovy ! Kovy! has to finish his career here, leaving Montreal would be the end of him, I don't see him flourishing anywhere else. Who would have thought we would be cheering our arch enemy Timmy Thomas? Talk about fickle fans!


One last note ….

The inauguration of Barak Obama.

I saw him interviewed a couple of years back, he was being asked if he would consider running for president, naturally he wouldn’t commit to anything but I mentioned to my other half if he ran he’d have it in the bag. (If only I could pick lottery numbers with the same accuracy). He is just what the American people needed after the dark years of the Bush administration, a perfect example of preparation meeting opportunity. Godspeed Barak, serve your people well.