11/15/01 - He doesn't shoot, he doesn't score
It's like this, fellas: when you get the puck on your stick in the opponent's end of the rink, just fire it at the net. Is that too much to ask for? I know, the odds of that puck going into the net are small, but at least there's a chance, a dream, a hope that you'll light it up.
The Montreal Canadiens haven't lit up much of anything lately, except perhaps the phone lines to the farm team in Quebec City. For some reason, the forwards have forgotten that it's in the best interest of the team and the scoreboard to shoot. More shots on net = more potential goals. It's not rocket surgery, for goodness sake!
In a recent game in Boston, the numbers flattered the visiting Canadiens as Montreal's final SOG (shots on goal) count read 20. As if! Maybe 8 or 9 with a handful of dribblers from the high boards -- and even that's pushing it. I could hardly watch the game, cringing with every hesitation, every befuddled rush by the boys in red. At times I found myself counting the players on the ice just to make sure Montreal wasn't playing a man short. "Two minutes for too many invisible players on the ice."
That's what it looks like. Insecurity. Confusion. The players don't seem to know what the game plan is. They play as if they haven't been given a specific on-ice role. This will happen when the core of a team is made up of cast-offs from other clubs; marginal second-line centres and third-line wingers become a struggling team's offensive hope. As a result we see Yanic Perreault squeezing the stick a little too hard, or Joey Juneau thinking too much as he crosses the blue line offside.
Then there's the other thing, Montreal's "little speedy guy" legacy. What am I on about? The Canadiens always seem to have a fast little highly skilled player on their roster. Think Yvan Cournoyer, Mats Naslund, Russ Courtnall, or for those who like the obscure, Kjell Dahlin and Gilbert Dionne. With little Captain Saku Koivu out for the season, this year's Mr. Speedy Boots is Oleg Petrov, a 5-foot-9, 172 pound winger whose bouts of brilliance can excite even the most cynical Montreal fan.
So why is that a bad thing?
It's not, really, it's just bad timing. Cournoyer and Naslund dipsy-doodled for the Habs when there was a supporting cast that could clear a path for them, or a line mate who could anticipate their bursts of speed and get them the puck on the fly. Pete Mahovlich, Guy Carbonneau, Bob Gainey and even Claude Lemieux allowed the speedy guys to play their exciting style of hockey.
Petrov, however, has seen an ever-changing stream of line mates due to all the injuries and the turnover in personnel year in year out. So when he does that incredible head-fake to cross the blue line, more often than not you'll see him hesitate, looking to make another great move or a slick pass, and you'll find yourself yelling at him to SHOOT THE PUCK!… but the hesitation is all the opposing defenceman needs to poke check the opportunity away. Sigh.
Is it the coach's fault? To some extent I'd say yes. If only because these guys look so confused, like they're still in the first week of training camp. But Michel Therrien can't control the injuries. He can't make a Fleury and Lindros out of a Petrov and Savage. His boss, André Savard, and his boss's boss, Pierre Boivin, can't afford it.
To be fair to Therrien and the players, the Montreal organization has been in a state of confusion and hesitation too. For 20-odd years! Drafting a Doug Wickenheiser instead of a Denis Savard; seeing the unknown Gainey rise to superstardom while a sure thing like Terry Ryan never makes it. From the top down the Canadiens seem to have no confidence in what they do, whether it's the trades they make (how do you ever face the fact that you traded Patrick Roy and John LeClair away?) or the shots they don't take. And like it or not, all of us hockey fans need the Montreal Canadiens to shoot and score more often.
Comments
Where can I find out when this was posted?
Posted by: terry ryan | November 1, 2004 04:21 PM
It was on Sportsnet.ca on November 15th, 2001.
Posted by: trish | November 2, 2004 09:17 AM