Halowe'en Weirdness

Why the Hell is this on canadiens.com? Here's an excerpt:

"What’s worse: a crosscheck in the back, or an unprotected chair shot?

Edge: An unprotected chair shot. No doubt about it. Every time it happens you taste copper; it’s like sucking on a penny. I think that’s a sign of a concussion."

Tonight: Habs vs. Sens.


The pussycat is Jason Spezza.

Redden is a no-go for Ottawa, while Dandenault and Downey are out for the Habs. Seems Downey is still sucking on pennies.

We'll probably see the line of Kovalev, Samsonov and Perezhogin again tonight. They combined for two goals in less than five minutes of icetime on Saturday versus the Leafs. If you're worried about faceoffs, Kovalev was a respectable 3-for-5 on the night.

Getting ready for tonight's game, I looked at the standings and noticed that yet again the Sens' record is lower than their goal differential would suggest. It seems they always underwhelm their pythagorean numbers. So I looked at their performance over the last five seasons compared to three other good teams over the same timespan:



The Sens are the only club whose "point %" is not better than their pyth. win %. They don't get as many wins as they should, given their goal differential. When they win, they often win big. When they lose, they lose small. Problem is, they lose small more often than they should. Is this what they mean by 'underachieving?'



Elsewhere...

The Coyotes CEO gave Gretzky the dreaded "vote of confidence." My, wouldn't it be embarassing if The Great One were fired by a man named Shumway?

I don't want to go on the cart!

I'm not dead!

A lot has happened in the month since my last post. I'm up one one wedding band, up one mortgage, and down one assload of money. So this is what it's like to be a grown-up.

Anywho, I should be able to post regularly from now on. Even more regularly once my probation period is over at my new job.

Time to catch up on some old news.

- So, Jim Balsillie bought the Penguins. Both Balsillie and Sidney Crosby are admitted Canadiens fans. I smell a trade. An insider trade.

- Once Sid is safely draped in the tricolore of les glorieux, Balsillie can get on with the duty of bringing NHL hockey to Southwestern Ontario. Which municipality? Take your pick: Hamilton, Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, Tilsonburg - it doesn't matter. The region is rife with NHL-starved hardcore fans. The working class needs a team.

- I just realized the obvious title of my month-old preceding post would have been "Ribwich-to-go."

- There must be some kind of "Boy Named Sue" effect of the new Sabres outfits. They are using their ridiculous appearance as a motivational tool. With that in mind, I propose this uniform for the Habs' third jerseys:


- Not to belabour a topic that really isn't all that important, but something must be done about this trend of handing marketroids the keys to NHL logos. The Buffaslug (which curiously appears to be flopping forward in a distinct Derek-Roy-diving-type motion) undoubtedly passed through a gauntlet of surveys and market groups. It undoubtedly was met with approval among the coveted pre-teen-male and similarly juvenile adult-male-sports-fan-with-money demographics. The avid fans will tolerate it while the casual fans buy all new merchandise. It's win-win. Gil Perreault must be proud.

- The Sabres are winning differently than they did last year.


Last year, they were only a +2 at even strength (not including ENGs). They made their hay on special teams (thanks to a phenomenal penalty-drawing differential) where they were +35. They're already +16 at ES this year without an increase in SOG. Their shooting % is off the chart and it will not be sustainable.

- Since this is supposed to a Habs blog, I'd better include some appropriate content... Sheldon "Never a Dull Moment" Souray is tied for the team lead with 11 points, and is 2nd in goals with 5. In the Green Jacket derby, he's just behind Alex Kovalev's -6 with a -5.

- High profile acquisition Sergei Samsonov is being outplayed by low profile, cliché-named acquisition Mike Johnson. For all the dirt, go visit the Montreal media websites.

- One final bit of filler - Here's my office pool team:

F Spezza
F Zetterberg
F Datsyuk
G Lehtonen
F Bergeron
F H. Sedin
D McCarthy
F S. Kozlov
F Stoll
D Foster
D Souray
T Nashville

We had to pick 6 forwards, 3 defensemen, a goalie and a team. Skaters' and teams' points count straight up. Goalies get 2 for a win, 1 for an OTL, 1 for a shutout. The lowest point-getter from each team will be discarded.

It was an 11-round draft with the order reversing each round. I picked @*!%ing 14th out of 17. Nevertheless, I'm pleased with my forwards. Spezza's big night just propelled me to 1st place. Now if only those Red Wing bums would wake up...