Friday, December 23, 2011

Re-hab.

Hab in Hiding stopped being updated meaningfully quite some time ago. Time and life had caught up to me and prevented me from writing anything of substance.

For quite some time I've been motivated to write again, but unwilling to dig up the past that is this blog, so I've moved on to a new project, writing on the habs with a good friend, at Re-Hab Hockey

Expect more of the same from me, except with this added benifit known as 'frequent updating'

Over the Christmas season I will be revisiting some of my better HIH posts there as well.

This was never a very popular blog, but I appreciate anyone who ever read's time spent reading what I had to say.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

How the Habs can beat the Pens

Been a while. Too busy hiding my head in shame via my last post.

First and foremost this was blatently stolen inspired by Habs Laughs who does basically what I want to do but actually updates and actually is funny. I also wanted to make this post prior to game one, so I'd like to thank the Habs and Pens for keeping the series tied.
That said


How the Habs can beat the Pens!
Keep key players like Andrei Markov healthy

Have Carey Price constantly flash his World Juniors Medal at Marc-Andre Fleury from the bench

Show Sidney Crosby his old Habs memmorobelia.

Remind Evgeni Malkin how he really should be helping his new friendship blossom with Alexander Ovechkin

Play better than them (credit: Habs Laughs)

Point out that history will remember their team this year better as a favourite who lost to an underdog than a team making its third of seven straight stanley cup final appearances

Convince them Hal Gill is still on their team - Shouldn't be hard as he was still skating his victory lap during training camp.

Convince Winnepeg Jets and Phoenix Coyotes fans to assault the guy who suggested they rip off the white-out

Ask Mario Lemiuex to start hitting up Crosby for back-rent

Get Markov healthy enough to become the second one with that last name to give the penguins a salute

Hire David volek as a motivational speaker

Raise the drinking age in Quebec to 21, give the Penguin's bench a liquor license, bar a third of their roster and head coach from entering.

Block shots without deflecting them into the net

Let Cammalleri do his thing

Win a game at home and convince the Penguins they need a police escort to 'keep off the heat'

Convince refs to call dives against both teams.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Goaltender of the Future

With Slovakia's tight win based on Jaroslav Halak's tight goaltending versus Russia, the goaltending debate for the Habs is picking up so much steam its beginning to scald. The problem is most armchair observers seem to be using logic reminiscent of a certain San Jose Sharks pro scout.

The Montreal Canadiens are currently in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Tampa Bay (who have two games in hand) and two ahead of the New York Rangers who hold one game in hand. We may just make the playoffs this year, and if we do, we'd likely want the strong goalie we had for much of the season to try and keep us in against Washington, New Jersey, or whoever we get seeded against.
Reality however, states we'll likely make a first round exit unless we perform a miraculous upset. Our team has been too up and down to really be consistent - our longest winning streak all season is only three games. In that case we need to be focused as much on the future of the franchise, and which goaltender we hold on to. No matter what Pierre Gauthier thinks, both of our goalies are RFA at the end of the season and we really can't afford to have them both alongside a resigned Thomas Plekanec.

And this is why we need to resign Carey Price and trade Jaroslav Halak.
I'm sure right now there's coffee hitting your monitor not unlike a Jason Blake wrist shot to the chest of a goaltender on those words, but hear me out. Price has had certain flashes of brilliance this year, and is statistically better in save% than Olympian Marc-Andre Fleury, Ottawa savior Brian Elliot, LA starter Jonathan Quick, and most other hyped up underachievers (I'm looking at you, both Philedelphia goaltenders, all three goaltenders to suit up for the Maple Leafs this season, Nicklas Backstrom, and both Nashville goalies). Admitted Halak's .923 is nicer than Price's .911 but it's not like Price is making a huge gap of less saves - especially as he's generally been put in following a Halak loss, suggesting the team wasn't bringing much effort anyway (further proven by Price's GAA being higher than goaltenders with worse save percentages, though still a reasonable though not outstanding 2.81).
So Price can compete, he just isn't playing as well as Halak right now. But here's where the future comes in.

Halak is a positionally sound goalie, will be 25 at the end of the season, has calm emotions and fast reflexes. His weaknesses are controlling the puck, and his size ( 5'11 is short for a goaltender). While reflexes don't degrade quickly, it's unlikely they will ever improve noticeably, and as he's already positionally sound there's not a whole lot of upward motion. Halak can practice with the puck but he's never going to get four inches taller.

Price, 22, is excellent with the puck (can you name four goaltenders better than him with the puck?), 6'3, and has just as sharp reflexes. His biggest issues are a weak glove hand (that is nonetheless greatly overplayed), some positional awareness issues, and having some difficulty dealing with the emotional stress of working in the Montreal environment. In short he's immature. Funny thing is, in the league, there aren't a whole lot of mature 22 year old goaltenders - let alone 22 year old goaltenders to begin with. He calms down and works on his positioning, and he's got a clear advantage on Jaroslav, who has effectively reached his ceiling. Is it really a gamble to say that Price will be a different player at 24 than he is at 22?

Can we risk giving up that potential to try to hold on to our eighth place seed this season?
Can we risk not getting any return for our current hot goaltender?

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Top Ten Reasons Your Team May Be Falling Out of the Postseason: Round 2

Top Ten Signs Your Team Might Be Falling Out of the Playoff Race: ROUND TWO

10: Realized your future rested in the hands of several people who played for the Leafs as recently as two weeks ago.

9: Realized your future rested in the hands of the rejects of the team dependant on Leafs rejects.

8: Future star player you picked up in the entry draft in June is actually playing like it's his first year in the league.

7: No one bothers to differentiate which goalie with the last name "Mason" plays for your team any more.

6: Jason Blake is adding offense to your team.

5: Team's performance seems to be connected to the strength of their logo... and their logo is a symbol of the American auto industry

4: Goaltenders and first two lines take the night off to watch the Superbowl. *

3: Marty Turco's "Flop Like a Fish when the Puck Touches You" isn't keeping the puck in front of the goal line any more

2: Line called up from the AHL provides an offensive boost.

1: Longest franchise winning streak ended by the Toronto Maple Leafs


* and to think this could have been a shot at Boston's losing streak instead

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Things that have happened since the last Dec 23 Road Win for the Habs

Here's a slice of things that have happened, or how the world looked the last time the Habs had a road win on Dec 23.
It's been a little while since we last won a road game on the 23rd of December. Our last WIN on this date was at home to Pittsburg... in 1995.
I'll stick to the big ones, mostly related to hockey.

- The internet became widespread because of...

- Every powered computer ever developed was manufactured.

- The television gained widespread acceptance, switched to colour, and changed resolutions half a dozen times. It's moved from vaccuum-tube'd implementation with a cathode ray tube display to liquid crystal displays, plasma output screens, and OLED LCDs.

- As an addenum to that, the NHL went from being primarily radio-driven to being televised, with the addition of white ice

- The Montreal Canadiens won 20 more Stanley Cups, while the Leafs won 7.

- The NHL Expanded from 6 to 30 teams.

- Every major Rock, rap, and rnb star's career has occurred since that game.

- It occured during the first season that a player scored 50 goals in 50 games. That very player along with Elmer Lach lead the Habs to a win that night against the Bruins.

- Every retired number in the Bell Centre except Howie Morenz was retired after that game.

- Both Bob Gainey and Jaques Martin were not born when the game took place.

- Since that game only two playersi n the NHL have been goaltenders named captain of their team, Bill Durnan two years later, and Roberto Luongo 63 years later.

- Some players had not yet returned from the Second World War.

- Newfoundland became a Canadian province, Nunavut a Canadian Territory.

- Toronto overtook Montreal as the most populous Canadian city.

- Rosa Parks had not refused to stand, Martin Luther King had not had a dream, Malcolm X had not yet caused controversy, and the civil rights movement had not yet happened.

- The Berlin Wall had not yet fallen.. actually the Berlin Wall had not yet been built.

- Russia was run by Stalin, Spain by Franco, and Cuba by Ramón Grau (also known as "someone not named Castro")

- In the amount of time that has gone by, Hal Gill could complete four full laps around the rink.


1945 was a long, long time ago.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Tuesday Top Ten: Signs Your Team Might Be Falling Out of the Playoffs

Tuesday top ten time, and as we're halfway through the season, it's time to chronicle what might be signs that your team will be golfing at the end of April, so

Top ten signs your team might be falling out of the playoff race:

10: Your goaltender was reminded he is, in fact, Cam Ward

9: Hopes for your team rest at least partly on a goaltender aquired in December.

8: No one in Montreal wants your French-Canadian star centre.

7: Have been blown out this season by the Leafs

6: Contingancy plan on your star player getting injured is a player not good enough for the Leafs.

5: Your playmaking centre has had his size be a trending topic on twitter more times than points he's gotten this year.

4: You traded a former fourth-overall pick for a player you have healthy-scratched in the past week.

3: Your team is allowing Chris Osgood to actually face a few shots a game.

2: After spending $20 million this season on new free agents, the one bailing your team out the most is a $750 000 a year defensemen who injured his own goalie in the stanley cup finals.

1: The league is feeling too much pity to find a reason to suspend Chris Pronger.

I'm Back: The Favourite, part 1

My life has been a bit upside down for the past month-ish, and I haven't been posting as I should. I apologize and am now looking to get back in the swing of things.

We'll get started with what is going to be an eleven part feature The Favourite
Since we lost most of the familiar faces of the franchise this off-season, many people are clamoring to find a player to identify with, to like. Even halfway through the season, the amount of people on Twitter asking what jersey to buy supports this. I'm going to profile eleven players, and advocate all of them as potential 'favourites'. They may not all be the best, but they may have some aspects that just jump out and say "Yes, I'm proud to have his number. I'm proud to cheer for him. He's a favourite".



Favourite Hab: #46 - Andrei Kostitsyn

The Basics:
Andrei will always have a bit of a dark mark on him that's not his fault. We selected him over a few players who've gotten some press time, guys with the last names like Carter and Getslaf. He had an immensly rocky start to this season, and was viewed as nothing special last season (despite a respectable 23 goals), but most remember two seasons ago when he had 26 goals in 78 games. He's spent much of his time with the Habs as being touted as having immense talent we're waiting to have show up. He's got one of the best shots on the team (Cammalleri's is better, and while Bergeron's is certainly harder, Kostitsyn's is more accurate), and it's become clear he's moved out of Kovalev's shadow and works very well with Thomas Plekanec.

The Stats:
AK46 is a proven 20 goal scorer, which is naturally useful on a team with issues with secondary scoring, though since Gionta has gone down there's been nothing secondary about Andrei's role with the team. Andrei Kostitsyn, a six-foot tall winger has 10 goals and 12 assists this season (sitting at +2), putting him on pace for another 20+ goal season on paper, but its important to note he was held to only two goals in the first quarter of the season. He's producing at a much faster rate now and it will be interesting to see where he ends up this season.

Intangibles:
Despite what people may say about his occasional moments of under-performing, he's dealt with immense pressure surrounding him, be it unfair comparisons to Alexei Kovalev, controversy concerning shady Belorussian mobsters, or the drama surrounding his brother early this season. One of his biggest issues had been communications issues with the rest of the team, but since becoming closer talking with Plekanec, his production has ramped up this season. As he becomes more open with the team, we can expect the best out of him. He's also finally discovered exactly what he can do when he puts the puck on the net. Often ignored, while not a heavy hitter by any means, he isn't afraid to take the body at all.

Highlights:
All highlight videos are not my own creation.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

An excellent article on our new aquisition

First and foremost, good to see the team rally to a win last night. If someone said in our stretch of games between Washington, Detroit, Columbus, Pittsburg, and Washington that we'd have 5 points total, some would accept that as performing decently - we have that after only three of the five games. We're in Pittsburg tonight and hope we can keep the magic alive.


Everyone has moments in sports that get them a bit misty-eyed and I really think this article about our new aquisition, Benoit Pouliot, needs to be read. It's from ESPN though I found it off of Habs InsideOut

The article

Monday, November 23, 2009

Little brother returns, The golden boy is shipped out of town

Montreal Canadiens call up RW S. Kostitsyn, trade RW G. Latendresse for Centre B. Pouliot.

I assume I'm not the only one who didn't see this coming, despite the fact that I've been dead to the world for the past week. Poulot was selected fourth overall in the 2005 NHL entry draft, which makes me wonder if he'll poke some fun at the fifth overall pick from the same round. Though you could just look at this as Montreal trading up 41 spots four years after the fact, while laughing about how people said "Montreal is dumb taking a goalie, Theodore and Huet will always be rock solid for them"

Latender was really getting lashings for underperforming, though his real issue was trying to be a finesse player when every aspect of his build and skillset says "Crash the net you're a power forward". That said, best of luck to him in Minnesota. Good to see members of the Habs playing with a guy named Koivu.

Speaking of which, we really need to get on signing Plekanec. I don't know what the cap implications of this deal were, but we aquired an underperforming centre for an underperforming winger and somehow I doubt this was meant as just a screw you to Kyle Chipchura.

Maybe the real thing here is either our maligned winger (who has 13 points in 16 games in the AHL) is either going to move up to the NHL on a more regular basis or is going to move out of town in the very immediate future. I'm not sure which I prefer so much as I hope we just get solid play. I;d like to see both Kostitsyn's succeed, but I want what's best for the team first. I'm not worried about this callup, I'm just curious about it's implications.

In other news Greg Stewart is finally back in the AHL. Finally.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Mancrush Vindicated

I make no secrets of it. I like Kyle Chipchura. He hasn't been defensively responsible in the past, but he's aggressive, has good leadership qualities, and is strong on the puck. If he could score, he'd be what Guilliame Latendresse is supposed to be. Except Gui! is not. Which is why Chips is getting the nod tonight, and I am immensely happy.


Tomorrow I'll be debuting a new feature that'll last ten weeks - Every Sunday I'll profile a Hab as a candidate to be a "favourite player" - It's not leading to a 'decision' or anything, I just figured that the boys could use moments in the spotlight as so many fan favourites slid out of town in the off season, and now that we're 20 games in we can start talking about the character of these folks