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Go Habs Go - Fan Forum 09/10

badams

By badams
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Kanada Kev Newbie

Kanada Kev

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I'm amazed that they have forced a game seven. Good on ya Montreal. I would never have guessed they'd make it this far in this round against the Pens.

Cammalleri totally deserves to become the next captain. He is tenacious and handles the media very well. Some great footage of him getting into the zone before a game sitting on the bench.

Still going with my gut and calling for a Pens win, but I hope it's a really close game no matter what tomorrow. Should be bloody exciting.

Article from the Gazette yesterday:

http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Memo+morons+does+stand+Cretins+Hooligans/3007335/story.html

Memo to morons: CH does not stand for Cretins and Hooligans

By Mike Boone, The GazetteMay 10, 2010

Montreal Canadiens fans revel on Peel St. after the Habs eliminated the Washington Capitals in Game 7.

Montreal Canadiens fans revel on Peel St. after the Habs eliminated the Washington Capitals in Game 7.

Photograph by: Dario Ayala, The Gazette

MONTREAL – An open letter to male Montrealers, ages 15 to 25, whose idea of a good time involves wreaking havoc in the downtown core:

Dear Dimwits,

There will be a hockey game tonight at the Bell Centre. The Montreal Canadiens trail their Eastern Conference semi-final three games to two and face elimination at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In other words - and there's a need to simplify when addressing this demographic - Game 6 could be the last of the long 2009-10 season.

There's also a chance the Cinderella Kids could rally to set up Game 7 in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. Depending on its outcome, the conclusion of the game will send dejected or euphoric fans spilling out of the Bell Centre. Chants of "Go Habs go!" will echo for a while, then almost everyone will go home.

If you are thinking of lingering to mourn or celebrate by rocking a few cars and breaking many bottles, a word to the less-than-wise:

Don't.

This is not the latest example of Uncle Grumpy-Pants telling kids to get off his lawn. Having survived nights that began with tequila shots and ended in Hawkesbury motel rooms, with no idea of how I got there or why I was wearing women's clothes, Uncle G-P can party with the best of 'em.

But in a city where fans suffer chronic shoulder dislocation by patting themselves on the back for sophisticated appreciation of hockey, this extracurricular nonsense has become an embarrassment.

Yes, as Montrealers keep telling themselves, this is a city that puts the joy in joie de vivre. There is, however, nothing remotely festive about streets clogged with unlettered oafs who haven't learned to drink.

Yes, Montrealers love our hockey team. Passionate devotion to the Canadiens is the grand truc rassembleur that unites a diverse population.

The Canadiens have done a masterful job of parlaying their proud heritage into a marketing juggernaut. You can't walk 20 metres without seeing that familiar logo.

But the CH does not stand for Cretins and Hooligans. La ville est hockey, elle n'est pas imbécile.

The Canadiens have taken steps to deal with bad behaviour in the Bell Centre. After performances of the Star-Spangled Banner were booed by occupants of the (not-so) cheap seats during first-round games against Washington, PA announcer Michel Lacroix began beseeching fans to show some respect for the national anthem of the country where Canadiens Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, Hal Gill and Paul Mara were born.

It worked. Fans have refrained from insulting their own Yanks.

Sadly, Lacroix's pleas for decorum can't be heard outside the building. Instead, would-be celebrants will be confronted by the police presence that has become standard operating procedure following important games:

Cops on horseback, riot squad on a side street, ready for hats-and-bats action, and a hovering helicopter, regrettably not napalm-enabled.

In addition to siphoning off personnel needed for important police work, such as breaking up life-threatening dice games in Montreal North and running construction businesses on the side, the deployment must be costing a small fortune for a cash-strapped city that has neither a chamber pot nor a recent Stanley Cup in which to relieve itself.

There is, of course, precedent for hockey-related civic unrest in Montreal. On March 17, 1955, the Richard Riot resulted in $100,000 in damages - real money in those days - to the Forum and businesses within a 15-block stretch of Ste. Catherine St. Twelve policemen and 25 civilians were injured; there were 41 arrests.

Canadiens superstar Maurice Richard had been suspended for slugging a linesman who got between him and a Boston Bruins antagonist. Canadiens' fans perceived the disciplinary action as another example of their beloved Rocket being victimized by the anglo hockey establishment, its power wielded by Clarence Campbell, a dour WASP right out of Central Casting.

Some historians see the Richard Riot as the first salvo of the Quiet Revolution. It had political, social and cultural significance totally lacking in subsequent disturbances, notably the idiotic cop car-burning frenzy of 2008.

Short of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman personally slipping itching powder into Jaroslav Halak's protective cup, there will be nothing to justify any street theatre tonight.

Memo to morons: Just go home.

You're giving anarchy a bad name.

mboone@thegazette.canwest.com

© Copyright © The Montreal Gazette

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Kanada Kev Newbie

Kanada Kev

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I'm amazed that they have forced a game seven. Good on ya Montreal. I would never have guessed they'd make it this far in this round against the Pens.

I'm curious -- are you cheering for the Habs or the Pens?

[color:purple]LOL ... come on now Ollie' date=' you know that you're only allowed to cheer for one team. If said team is no longer in the playoffs (or couldn't even make it ) then you are SOL and are only allowed to watch.[/color']

:bonghit:

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Booche Newbie

Booche

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Greatest.Hockey.Experience.Of.My.Life.

When Cammy scored his 2nd, the Bell Center was absolute mayhem. What you didnt see, because they had to go to a tv timeout, was the crowd saluting Cammy. The Bell Center put his live image up on the big screen as he sat on the bench. For the entire timeout the crowd stood on their feet, waved towels, ROOOOARED, sang ole's and celebrated. Deuce and I couldnt even hear the simplest of question posed to one another.

"KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR THE BEER GUY!"

"WHAAAAAT??????"

"WHERE????"

I've never heard anything so loud in my life.

Good thing I am typing this out because my voice is facking killing me. What a night. What a night!

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Booche Newbie

Booche

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Home ice magical for Canadiens

When Bell Centre public address announcer Michel Lacroix announced that Mike Cammalleri scored his 11th of the post-season, the sellout crowd of 21,273 erupted into an ovation that is at least comparable to other memorable ones this building has seen in recent years - Saku Koivu's dramatic return from cancer being the most vivid of them.

Now that's what you call home-ice advantage.

When Michael Cammalleri scored his second goal of the game to tie it 2-2 in the second period of the Montreal Canadiens' 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night, it was followed by a television timeout.

Bell Centre public address announcer Michel Lacroix announced that Cammalleri scored his 11th of the post-season and the sellout crowd of 21,273 erupted into an ovation that is at least comparable to other memorable ones this building has seen in recent years - Saku Koivu's dramatic return from cancer being the most vivid of them.

Lacroix, seeing how the crowd's reaction was building, remained silent. He didn't announce that Andrei Kostitsyn and Roman Hamrlik drew assists on the play.

He didn't say another word.

He simply waited in silence, allowing the ovation to build and build until it was on overflow mode by the time the commercial break had ended and the legions of fans watching at home were given the opportunity to witness this special scene.

Once play resumed, Lacroix picked up where he left off and announced the assists and time of the goal.

That wave of emotion appeared to carry the Canadiens and, exactly 2 1/2 minutes later, Jaroslav Spacek scored to make it 3-2 for the home side.

During the second intermission, Lacroix was walking up to the press lounge to grab something to drink and he was asked if that little pause was planned.

"No," Lacroix said. "But it was worth it."

It was, indeed, and the Canadiens were the beneficiaries.

"To get an ovation like that, I mean, what can I say? Just, 'Thank you,'" Cammalleri said. "And then after that, just trying to stay focused and trying to concern yourself with the rest of the hockey game and I thought our team responded well. I thought we had some big plays from a lot of guys coming down the stretch."

One of those guys was Travis Moen, who dove in front of a great Evgeni Malkin chance about five minutes into the third period. Another would be rookie P.K. Subban, who was playing in the AHL all of two weeks ago but logged a game-high 29:11 of ice time and finished with a plus-2. And yet another would be Maxim Lapierre, who looked like Alex Goligoski's daddy in losing him along the boards before wheeling out in front to score the prettiest goal of the night and, ultimately, the most important.

'Solid team effort'

For Spacek, this game had to be extra special.

Coming back from an illness he thought may threaten his career, Spacek played an extremely sound game and helped temper the blow of losing Hal Gill, who took the warmup but finally decided the cut on his left leg was too painful for him to play.

"It was kind of tough for me to play the first period, but after it was kind of a relief," Spacek said. "I just played up-tempo and it was a good solid team effort. Even after we were down 2-1, we were still playing with the system and put so much pressure on them."

This was a game where the goaltending wasn't spectacular on either side. Marc-André Fleury would surely want to have another look at Cammalleri's second goal, a backhand to the blocker side that caught Fleury moving too far the wrong way. Jaroslav Halak also allowed a goal that should not have gone in when Kristopher Letang beat him with a wrist shot from the slot to put Pittsburgh up 2-1.

But when the Canadiens win and the goaltending's not a huge factor, even though Halak was named the third star, that's troublesome for the Penguins.

As good as he's been in the series thus far, with a .922 save percentage through six games, Halak has maybe stolen one game. The way he's been zoned in these playoffs, one would imagine he has another theft left in him.

Fleury also has a strong Game 7 pedigree and could be the determining factor Wednesday night in Pittsburgh (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 7 p.m. ET), just as he was in Game 5.

'We've got hockey to play'

If the goaltending is not a major factor in Game 7, it could be the composure of the Penguins, particularly captain Sidney Crosby.

Yes, he scored his first goal of the series in the first period, but he wasn't particularly dangerous in this game, despite the fact his personal shadow, Gill, wasn't dressed. Canadiens centre Tomas Plekanec was matched up against him all night and, as the final buzzer sounded, Crosby went after him with a cross-check, setting off a scrum after both benches had emptied.

"It's just Plekanec," Crosby explained afterwards, sounding exhausted by the thought of Plekanec. "It's better to get that stuff out of the way anyway. We've got hockey to play in Game 7."

The fact that they do still have hockey to play is a marvel unto itself and a credit to a Canadiens team that has been written off far too many times this season. And while Halak got the bulk of the credit for the Habs' first-round upset of the Capitals, it may be time to realize that this team has a plan and it executes it perfectly game in and game out.

It might very well do so all the way to the conference final.

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badams Newbie

badams

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Well I certainly dont want to be at work today. My seat is jittery!

My desk is all decorated in Habs stuff. I just finshed making a Crosby voodoo doll which I will pin beside my Ovechkin doll. Can't take any chances at this point ;)

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Kanada Kev Newbie

Kanada Kev

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Way to side step the question!

You are famous for claiming to be both a Leaf and a Habs fan. Your Hab fandom isn't showing much this playoff season so I was curious if things had changed.

Well, here's who my kids have been cheering for so far (i'm sure they'd be happy to join the bandwagon next round if the Saint Halak and the Habs pull it off tonight) ;)

IMG_3075_resize.JPG

IMG_3073_resize.JPG

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Guest Low Roller

Guest Low Roller

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Honestly, how can I be expected to work today?

And Kev, with all due respect to your daughter, the following must be said:

That's the manliest Crosby has ever looked. :)

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