This Price is Not Right

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Written on 4/21/2010 by Jim Cerny

Listen, I know that Jacques Martin knows a helluva lot more about hockey than I do. And I confess, I am not in Montreal covering the Canadiens-Capitals series in person, so I don't have my usual inside feel of what is going on around both teams.

But I think Martin is making a big mistake, and showing signs of true panic, in starting Carey Price in goal tonight instead of Jaroslav Halak in the critical Game 4 versus Washington.

I am more than aware that Halak was strafed for six goals, including the overtime winner, in Washington's frenetic 6-5 comeback in Game 2, and followed up by allowing three goals in a four-shot sequence in a 5-1 loss in Game 3 before being pulled in favor of Price. That Halak was pulled in the third game was the correct move for Martin to make in trying to stem the Caps' momentum.

Halak, though, is your No. 1 goalie. You pull him, fine. But you put him right back in there tonight. Without his stellar play, especially after cementing himself as the clear-cut No. 1 over Price the final two months of the season, the Habs probably are not even in the playoffs.

This is no knock on Price, the 22 year-old who has not won a game since right out of the Olympic break. He hung in there in relief on Monday, allowing two goals on 23 shots. But he should be wearing the baseball hat tonight, not shouldering the fortunes of his team.

The move reeks of desperation on the part of Martin. And even though players on both sides praised Price to the sky following the morning skates at the Bell Centre today, I'd be shocked if a majority of any kind privately supported Martin's decision in the home team's locker room.

Yes, Price gives the Caps a different look in goal. He's much bigger, takes up much more of the net, and is a better puckhandler than Halak. But Halak is the better goalie, having the better season, and is the Habs true No. 1.

As I stated yesterday, this is not Bruce Boudreau yanking Jose Theodore, Washington's No. 1 by default this season due to the injuries that sidelined young Semyon Varlamov. Washington's situation is a 1a replacing a 1 in goal. In Montreal that is not the case. Halak clearly beat Price out for the job, has had a terrific season, and should be allowed to prove his mental toughness in bouncing back with a strong start against the Caps tonight.

Martin should be more concerned with his club's Ole!-style defense which has repeatedly stepped aside to allow Washington's high-powered offense a plethora of prime scoring chances.

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Disallowed Goal Not Canucks Biggest Problem

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Written on 4/20/2010 by Jim Cerny

OK, let me get this out there right away. The Vancouver Canucks do not trail the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in their best-of-seven because Daniel Sedin had a goal waved off last night, video review from Toronto ruling he kicked the puck into the net.

Vancouver trails LA because their star goalie has not been good enough, the club as a whole has taken a bunch of undisciplined penalties, and the penalty kill has been strafed by the Kings power play.

One video review, as major a decision as it was, is not the difference here.

I know my friends in Vancouver, who loved me when I predicted a Canucks Cup right here back in early October, do not agree, nor do they love me any more. But if you watch these games objectively, as I do, you can't fail to see the Canucks shortcomings, so far.

For those of you who have yet to see it, here is the replay of the Sedin disallowed goal. That's a 50-50 call which likely could go either way. I think Mike Murphy in Toronto got it right disallowing the goal. Sedin is driving hard to the net, but it does seem like he is looking down to where puck and skates are going to meet, and clearly directs the puck in that way.

The thing is, slow motion shows you things more clearly, and leads you to believe Sedin knew what he was doing in directing the puck in with his skate. But in real-time, that play happens so fast, it's hard to imagine that the hard-driving Sedin could think and react so quickly. 50-50 call either way.

Nevertheless, the Canucks rebounded to score a bit more than a minute after the disallowed goal to pull within 4-3 of the Kings before eventually losing 5-3. Had Luongo not allowed 4 goals on 16 shots, nor had the Canucks not surrendered three goals on three power play chances for LA, things might have been different, and that's where Vancouver needs to focus heading into Game Four.

For the Canucks to win, Luongo needs to be much better, and Vancouver has to find a way to silence the Kings power play, which is now a whopping 7-12 in the series.

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Some other quick playoff thoughts:

I understood, and totally agreed with, Bruce Boudreau's decision to replace Jose Theodore in goal with Semyon Varlamov, and not just because the kid played so well last night, especially dazzling in the first period up in Montreal. Theodore was No. 1 much of this year by default because Varlamov was hurt much of the time. Switching from one to the other here, just like during the Caps first round series against the Rangers a year ago, is easy to digest on the ice and in the dressing room because neither goalie is the clear-cut No. 1.

However, I believe Montreal's Jacques Martin needs to go back to Jaroslav Halak in Game Four, despite pulling him during last night's loss in favor of Carey Price. At one point in time, Halak and Price were even on the depth chart, no clear-cut No. 1 like in Washington. But over the course of the year Halak claimed that top spot while Price, the favored son, did not. This is Halak's team now and he should be back in their starting Game 4 at the Bell Centre trying to even up that best-of-seven.

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By the way, how much fun to watch is that Caps-Canadiens series? Offense, offense, and more offense. Great skating, back-and-forth action, scintillating fun.

I'm not sure you win a Stanley Cup playing this way, but I know I am enjoying watching it!

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I think my favorite player to watch in this post-season is Phoenix captain Shane Doan. One of the nicest, most sincere, down-to-earth stars in this great game, Doan had played in only 32 playoff contests over the first 13 years of his NHL career, spent entirely with the Winnipeg/Phoenix franchise, and none since 2002. Seeing him back in the post-season, playing with a relish and exuberance second to none, has been a joy. Watching him score only the seventh playoff goal of his career in Game Two against the Red Wings was another true delight.

Unfortunately Doan is a no-go for this evening's huge Game Four in Detroit. Doan is out with an "upper body" injury, though coach Dave Tippett says it is a day-to-day injury and that this brief rest should have the captain back in there for Game 5 back home in Phoenix.

Hope so. Love watching Shane Doan getting a crack at skating in the NHL's post-season.

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Second Impressions Positive for Price and Theodore

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Written on 10/02/2009 by Jim Cerny




Among the many story lines and subplots to Opening Night in the National Hockey League on Thursday, one of the more intriguing ones to me was how a pair of embattled goaltenders---Carey Price (above photo) of Montreal and Jose Theodore of Washington---would fair in their first chance at making a second impression.

Let's just say both Price and Theodore passed their respective first tests of the season with flying colors.

Price, the 22 year-old who battled on and off ice woes in Montreal a year ago, was stellar in turning aside 43 of 46 shots in last night's 4-3 overtime victory against arch-rival Toronto. Most impressive to me was how Price controlled his rebounds so well. He didn't force himself into making tremendous acrobatic saves. Instead he positioned himself well and seemed to swallow up shot after shot as a result.

Of the three goals he did allow, two were scored by Matt Stajan on the power play---with one of those a perfect redirection in front---and the other by Alex Ponikorovsky resulted directly off a Hal Gill giveaway behind the Canadiens' net.

It was clearly a solid first outing for Price, whose only misstep was accidentally getting tangled with teammate Andrei Markov in the crease leading to Markov's departure from the game in the third period due to a bad cut caused by Price's skate blade. Sportsnet in Canada is reporting that Markov will miss 2-3 months of action after undergoing surgery to repair tendon damage in his leg this morning.

That is a big blow to the Canadiens, as well as to Price, himself, who loses his top defenseman for a bulk of this important season.

Just consider it another obstacle for Price to overcome. Last year Price fell from grace, with his goals against rising, his save percentage falling, and his off-ice social habits called into question by the Montreal media, and subsequently, by the Canadiens' fans.

For a kid just 21 years-old at the time, it must have been a dizzying turn of events for Price. He had gone from being a national hero---after his superlative 1.14 goals against helped lead Canada to the 2007 World Junior Championship gold medal---to the heir apparent as next great Canadiens goalie following his terrific run in the 2007 AHL playoffs for Hamilton and his impressive rookie campaign in Montreal in '07-'08 that featured 24 wins, a 2.56 goals against, and a sterling .920 save percentage.

And Price had accomplished all of this prior to his 21st birthday. Pretty heady stuff to say the least.

That he took a step back last season should not have been a tremendous cause for concern, especially playing for a team that collectively had fallen backwards, as well. But Price was attacked from all angles, and clearly that affected his play.

Of course, Price did bring much of this on himself---most notably being photographed out at all hours many nights a week at various Montreal nightspots.

The question heading into this season is how will Price, still a kid at age 22, though already in his third NHL season as the No. 1 backstop in Montreal, will accept the responsibility that goes with being a star for the Canadiens, and learn from the mistakes he made a year ago.

There is a long way to go in the 2009-10 season, but Price made a very strong case for himself last night.

Of course if Price ever needed counseling on how to handle the pressures of a roller-coaster tenure in Montreal, he could turn to the 33 year-old Theodore, who arrived on the Montreal scene in 1996 as a hot-shot star goalie with model good-looks just like Price. After finding his footing by the start of the new millenium, Theodore won both the Vezina and Hart Trophies in 2002. Within four years, his numbers and confidence decling by the season, Theodore was shipped to Colorado.

Theodore arived in Washington last season looking to reestablish himself as a No. 1 goalie after a fairly strong 2007-08 campaign salvaged his rough two-and-a-half-year tenure out west. He went out and won 30 games, but critics---and rightfully so---pointed to his talented team as the reason why his win total was so high, considering his middling 2.87 and .900 statistics.

With a chance to redeem himself in the playoffs, Theodore instead crashed. After playing poorly in Game One of the first round against the Rangers, Theodore was replaced as the starter by rookie Semyon Varlamov, who came thisclose to leading the Caps into the Eastern Conference Finals.

Hockey pundits opined in the off-season that Varlamov would be the starter this season for a Capitals team intent on making a run to the Cup Finals. Head coach Bruce Boudreau instead talked up Theodore as the club's No. 1, and followed through by starting him on opening night. Theodore responded with a sharp performance, stopping 19 of 20 shots in a 4-1 road win in Boston.The veteran butterfly netminder was especially good in the first several minutes of the match when the Bruins swarmed the Caps and created their best scoring chances.

Of course, nothing is easy in this game. And as such, Boudreau will start Varlamov in the team's home opener on Saturday against the Maple Leafs.

Though he likely will be battling Varlamov for playing time throughout the season, trying to hold off the youngster's push for the No. 1 spot, at least Theodore---like Price---was able to make a strong second impression on opening night.

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