Ties that bind (November 2002)
It's a fact: you can't tie the Stanley Cup. You can win it and you can lose it. But never has an NHL commissioner asked both captains to come to centre ice to accept the Cup. And never has the engraver had to double his chisel time pounding two rosters onto the shiny silver. You can't tie the Stanley Cup.
So the Montreal Canadiens better learn to win.
Going into Tuesday's game against the St. Louis Blues, the Habs' record was 4-3-4, good enough for 7th in the Eastern Conference (but that's just because a bunch of teams think a tie is good enough this year.) If the Toronto Maple Leafs hadn't given away the game in the third period the other night, Montreal may have recorded another tie.
So thanks to Eddie Belfour, the Canadiens got the win, which is amazing on several levels. Much was made of the fact that they had never won a game in the Air Canada Centre before last weekend. More surprising, though, was the W itself instead of the T. There were moments right from the start of that game when it looked like Montreal was playing for a tie. A zero-zero tie I might add. They continued their bad habit of setting a defensive tone for the game; don't take chances, chip the puck out and please Lord help us hang on. And that was in the first 5 minutes!
So quel surprise pour moi when the boys actually looked like they wanted to win, like they enjoyed scoring. That's the tone that must be set, because teams will punish those who sit back and hold on to the point. Well, not the Leafs of course, but the Canadiens have some tough opponents coming up, like the Blues, the Kings, the Stars and the Devils. They'll bury an insecure team that doesn't trust its offensive play. Now's the time to play to win.
And speaking of surprises...
In between periods at the rink the other night when all eyes in the press box were on the high-collared dude on the tube, I started jotting down a Top 10 List, Surprising things about the Montreal Canadiens so far. While I didn't quite get to 10, I had an assortment of interesting bits that I thought I'd share with you anyway. In no particular order:
Jan Bulis
I didn't even have him making the team this year. To quote myself from October 8th: "Rounding out the forwards who made the cut: Oleg Petrov, Joe Juneau, Andreas Dackell, Randy McKay, Bill Lindsay, Chad Kilger, Jan Bulis (look for the last 3 guys to get bounced in and out of the lineup.)" And the embarrassing thing is, he's become one of my favourite players! He's a plus-3 on a checking line that is playing more like a 2nd line.
Joe Juneau
This guy IS my favourite player. Don't ask me why, but he just gives every night. When he's winning the face-offs he sets the tone of the shift. When he doesn't win the face-off, he's always in the best position to regain the puck and stop the Bures, the Fedorovs and the Sundins. He, Bulis and Andy Dackell just make me so happy. Quel surprise!
Theodore/Hackett
Not to dwell on this much more, but what the heck is wrong with having 2 top flight goalies in the roster? If Jeff Hackett ended his career in Montreal doing whatever it took to support Theodore and get the team into the playoffs, why would anyone make a fuss?
Donald Audette
Never thought he could start the season in such a slump after the way he finished it out last year. And he's not going to break out of it being a healthy scratch night after night. Sigh.
Andre Markov
I had forgotten that Markov had such wheels. And what an asset to the powerplay that has desperately been lacking a speedy big guy with a wicked shot. What's really great is that he's only 23. He's going to get bigger and better for a lot of years. I never thought HE was going to be the next great Montreal defensive hope.
Ron Hainsey and Patrick Traverse
Hainsey may have something to say about the next great hope, and that's okay by me. He and his new partner, Traverse, are making the most of the injuries to Sheldon Souray and Stephane Quintal. While there have been some shaky moments and some hand wringing in the crowd, these two have held their own thus taking the pressure off Patrice Brisebois, Craig Rivet and Karl Dykhuis. Which in turn has made these veteran rearguards play better than I've ever seen them play. You see how that works?
Okay, so it's a Top 6 List and I may have gushed a bit too much about Joe Juneau. But those are my thoughts after a wild week that saw controversy, injury and of course a couple of ties. In the end, though, the Habs are undefeated in 4 and in 7th place in the East. Is that so surprising?