More Beautyee

EGJ, almost 14 weeks

For as much as the Habs have shown up in these playoffs, their opponents, many of them, haven't bothered. Ovechkin in Round One, an abysmal failure. And Malkin in the latter phase of Round Two, non-existent. Shame on Washington for sure. But double shame on Pittsburgh if it can't put up a better fight and take this series. Jaro Halak and the Canadiens may be riding something magical, even smoking it, but they're not invincible. What they are is a confident netminder backstopping a team that's bought into a system, and so totally beatable it's not funny. Really, the further this thing goes along the unfunnier it becomes. What it's going to take to conquer this Montreal roll is more than x's and o's, or even shear talent. It'll require passion, determination and urgency. Kind of like the stuff the Habs have been playing with the past month.

Fire with fire, man. How it's done. How it's won.

There's one more chance for the Penguins to find their heart and make it right. If not, it's going to be a long night in Pittsburgh. And to the dismay of many, an even longer night in Montreal.

Cooke or Canadiens

Who would you rather not?

Hate, Hurt, Hope

Oh how to deal, how to feel? Hate for the Habs? Or hurt for yourself? If anything Leafs fans should be encouraged. There's potential in little. Montreal, a prime example, is now priming for the 2nd round (God has blessed you, Jaro).

Skipping ahead to 'dreamland', it's all encouraging because maybe it's the Leafs who'll snatch that 8th spot next Spring? Followed by, perhaps, an upset of the top seeds? The Canadiens and their frenzied faithful can attest, it's enjoyable stuff. And all you have to do is put yourself in position to get it. That's basically avoid 3 and 17 starts, which despite their up and down season the Canadiens were able to do. They'll opened well, stuck around and squeaked in. It wasn't pretty, but now look at them. They're still playing.

For Leafs fans, it hurts. Revelling rivals in late April is never easy to accept. But instead of hate, why not hope? Hope for yourself, and your team to get the same opportunity. And for the others, that it doesn't last much longer.

60 plus, boyz

It's apparent. This team will be fun to watch. It'll also be a frustrating group to follow if it doesn't have enough in the tank to push for better through the latter portion of the game. They came out like world beaters, they closed out a beaten bunch. Hey, OT's get wacky, but the Leafs have to sense things are slipping towards the unpredictable and CALM IT DOWN. It's a crucial and necessary part of earning those extra points. They didn't do it on opening night, lost, with a point for effort, but must now move onto thinking of an upset in Washington. Hey, why not? It's a possibility with this team. Really, after just one game, 60 plus minutes, the ups, the downs, it's all possible in Toronto this season. Strap in folks, and prepare for just about anything.

Stars:

Price
Stajan
Metropolit (I grew up with the guy in Regent)

Jars:

Toskala
Gomez
Schenn

*I still can't wait until Tyler Bozak and Vik Stalberg are working together again. I think they were meant for each other.

*Kadri opened the scoring for the Knights in Sarnia on Thursday. London beat the Sting 4-3. The Leafs 7th overall pick in June is shooting for 100 points in Junior this season. More with Naz on "The Hook with Norman James", Friday, 8PM at http://am980.ca/.

Reality's gonna bite

Are you like me and can't get over the fact people actually appreciate Alexei Kovalev? It's wild, man. Some people (the dummies) respect, even revere, the guy to such a degree they demonstrate on his behalf. Must've been the locks, because it couldn't been his sporadic flair? It couldn't have been all of that false hope over 5 seasons? Well, it had to be something, because he's got a hold of some people real good. So serious is his influence, in front of Santre Bell they shouted, screamed, and chanted for the guy to be re-signed, while of course failing to refrain from a chorus of "ole...ole, ole, ole...". Now, that ole ole bullshit is one stupid chant, and that Kovalev love-in was one stupid event. Give him credit though, AK has an image that sends "the dreamer" into complete disorientation. It's a special power with a special affect that's overcome many-a-poor-bastard who's bled those three magical colours. Anyway, the Habs, that fan friendly organization, made a prudent hockey move by choosing not to retain l'artiste. Good for them. Bad for the organization, a desperate one, that brought him aboard.


Courtesy: Canadiens.com

5 years of just about nothing in Montreal to be followed up with something in Ottawa? What a way to spend the twilight of your career. And I'm not sure how Kovalev makes the Senators much better? He can play-make, yes, but for who in the capital? Doubt Dany Heatley returns. And if he does I hope the good folks who pack Scotiabank place to put up with this garbage boo the fuck out of him. Dany Heatley sucks btw. Screw him. Anyway, many of us forecast a lot of booing at SBP this coming season, especially when the Sens' newest edition is fully settled into his latest edition of under performance. For as desperate as they are in Ottawa I doubt the faithful there will too fall under l'aritise's spell. See, there are no dreamers left in the capital. BB and the quackers killed it (the dream) in 2007. Here's betting it won't take long for AK to realize that world of heroes and icons exists only further East. Where a culture of worship created on phenomenon and folklore is today barely kept alive by phonies and fantasy. Yes, Alex those days are over. It's time to get real.

Standing in the way

So this is pretty much it for me. The end game. After tonight the Leafs can fizzle the rest of the way. I really won't care because it really won't matter much.

But tonight, oh tonight it has to be all about upsetting, thwarting, screwing up, do whatever it takes to fuck over the Canadiens.

This is what's its come down to, and hey, if the shoe were on the other foot the Habs would take great pleasure in doing the same. A Leafs win tonight won't vault them into the playoffs but it would secure another season-series triumph over their ancient rivals. Consider the Canadiens were supposed to be a juggernaut and the Leafs a mere forgetmenaut and its a big deal! And face it, this weird season of ups and downs and excitement and confusion would be easier to digest if the Leafs were to win tonight. A win over the Habs is always accompanied by an extra dose of satisfaction, even if it fails to prevent them from making the playoffs.

Of course, like most Leaf supporters my eyes are on the future with interest and hope, but for today/tonight its all about the 'now' and I don't doubt the guys wearing blue-and-white this evening feel any different. Really, do they have much choice?

Its now or never.

With this young group, Ron Wilson hockey is about promise today for a promise of more later. You've gotta bring it to be brought along, and there's no better example of a time to do that than against the Canadiens.

One more time, boys.

State of Delusion

Its a match made in hockey's most self-important haven. Hardly perfect, yet so perfectly paired.

Sad sad Habs. Silly, silly supporters.

They're standing on the edge ready to jump. All for what? A group they believed to be an extension of a glorious past? What's going on in Montreal, throughout Quebec and much of Canada is a demonstration, if not the definition of delusion. Of course, historically the Montreal Canadiens are hockey's most successful organization, but the rear view mirror indicates its success that's just about out of sight now. Yeah, we watched the Canadiens hoist their last Stanley Cup in colour, but it was 16 years ago and without anything remotely as nice since. Even those lousy Leafs have done better. Not including a semifinal appearance that very same Spring, the brutal Buds have reached the Final-four on three occasions. Its hardly a comparison of their full histories, instead perspective for those who talk about the Canadiens as if success has always been a right of passage. Anyway, heading into this season, the objective observer pegged the Canadiens to be good, not great, and nowhere near the status of Ice Angels as predicted by those silly, silly Canadiens supporters. In September still buzzing from that 1st place finish 4 months earlier, Guy Carbonneau's Habs appeared to be a team bolstered by youth, speed, a top 5 selected goaltender coming off a surprisingly impressive debut and a veteran presence that might lead the way. The ingredients suggested something tasty with potential for more, and at times this season that was certainly the case. A masterpiece it wasn't, though showing the makings of an interesting creation. But even the most delicious can so turn disgustingly sour, and quick. Tonight the Canadiens find themselves in sour condition, rotting from within.

So should we be surprised?

This team, right from the get-go, had the potential to go bust. Wild, almost unattainable expectations aside, the Canadiens began play with holes in the armour, the kind that when exposed could force the entire foundation to come crumbling down. Lo and behold demise not naive destiny is the reality staring back at Montreal's disheartened hockey club. Again, its quite sad. And silly?

What's driving me nuts, and a deluded fan base is to blame for much of this, is this concept that the 2008/2009 Canadiens now under the misguidance of Bob Gainey are somehow carrying the torch passed to them by their legendary forefathers. Really? Honestly? Perhaps in the nostalgic frenzy of season 100 the daunting task of actually winning the championship became lost on the supporters of Quebec's team? But how could that be? For a group that professes loyalty to only excellence, failing to forecast this nonsense makes you wonder: do the good people of Montreal really know what good hockey is anymore? Could it be a passion for the crest evolving into nothing more than blind love for players who've ultimately shamed it?

Tonight a rabid, hungry contingent has become so desperate its willing to supplant what's real with what was and what's wished for.

Those who helped build the Canadiens' glorious legacy must be insulted by what's going on with the team they left behind. A tradition of excellence succeeded by overvaluation and under performance. The differences are obvious, to the rest of us, but what about the similarities? Off the ice, expectations remain as high now as they were back then. And much like their magical past, the Canadiens of the present are too under a spell. But any fragments of magic once floating adrift from the glory years are long gone. Today's Canadiens seem more and more to be playing cursed. Call it a wrath. A sign. Better yet, call it a reminder that the blood, sweat and tears in which tradition is built does not flow forever. So how much longer will the inheritors of the mighty estate continue, recklessly, to draw from yesterday's greatness? Its painfully obvious, now more than ever, the well has run dry.

Carbonneau fired

GM Bob Gainey to take over in hopes of saving the Habs' centennial season from disaster. But can he? Gotta have a championship type team to make things happen and Montreal does not have one. Good luck, Bob.

Meantime, Patrick, Larry, grab a bat. You could be up.

Habs cup winners?

Jacques Demers thinks so...

Hey, the guy led the Canadiens to their last title. He can say or think whatever he pleases, and I don't have to agree with him.