Honestly, they started the game off well and came back well, but two things killed them.
The non-icing, icing. That was icing all day long, the refs f***ed them, but the two kids learned a lesson that you can't stop until you hear the whistle. Incompetent officiating happens in the NHL too often.
The muffin of a 5th goal against by Primeau.
In the end, the goaltending regressing to the mean from last year, multiple execution failures to clear a puck from the zone when they get the chance, and the lack of depth to overcome major pieces of the line-up being out, and you'll get this against a bonafide cup contender that was built by our very own Gorton.
Its good to read a rational response to last night's defeat.
Most minor league hockey teams have a 24 hour rule: that parents can't contact their sons/daughters' team managers and coaches during the 24 hour period after each game to prevent the usual / predictable complaints that their son/daughter didn't have enough ice time or wasn't used on their team's powerplay.
I've coached and managed hockey teams for over 30 years. The stories I could tell would shock most here ( other than those who are fellow coaches/managers). Here's a short snippet which you may find amusing: I was coaching in a summer recreational league in the GTA where the players ranged from AAA to house league. After a game that we actually won, an incensed parent stormed into the dressing room and angrily confronted me because I had the temerity of playing his son, normally a center, on defence. In his words, I was 'stunting the growth of son's development.' Oh yeah .... the kids were ten years old. As the discussion became more heated and the parent became more aggressive ( all in front the other players) the parent had to be restrained and removed from the dressing room. To avoid further incitements, it was thought best to have the kid in questioned moved to another team. The stories I could tell.
The 24 hour cooling off period avoids most of these type of incidents. It would be interesting if a similar policy was instituted on forums like this one. People would hopefully cool off after a particularly malodorous loss and post with some retrospection and restraint.
Bottom line: the sky is not falling. We don't have to fire the coach, trade away every player or even change the goal song. This team, at best, with everything going right, was a marginal playoff team. Take into consideration the number of injuries to key players that the team has suffered, the lack of quality depth, the youth on the team and the number of underperforming veterans, it's no surprise that they were overwhelmed by a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. Our goalies can't be relied on every game to save our asses like Montembeault did against the Leafs. Its going to take several more years to undo the dry rot of decades of mismanagement.
But I like to look at the positives, perhaps its the misguided mindset of a Habs fan of close to 70 years. I am a living witness of the good, the bad and Houle/Bergevin.
Here's my positives:
Evans, quietly, as a result of his excellent play and leadership, has become an important player on this rebuilding team. If his level of play continues, he'll justly earn an extension of his contract. If his high level of play does continue, Hughes would be a fool not to extend this dedicated player.
As some know, I was an early booster of
Mailloux but grew somewhat skeptical about this young man's upside. Last night, you saw the best and worse of Mailloux's game. As I warned, Mailloux lacks the skating ability to avoid the first forechecker and gain the separation and time to be able to consistently get the puck, whether by skating it or passing it, out of the defensive zone. Last night, as in the game against the Islanders, at times when Mailloux was on the ice, the team was trapped and hemmed in our defensive zone for extended periods. It was worse when Mailloux was pared with Hutson on defence. On the positive side, for the first time, I saw Mailloux display one of his greatest skills, the first pass from the defensive zone. Both in London and Laval I saw Mailloux make accurate laser-like passes from deep in his defensive zone to streaking forwards one and even two zones away. His passes were hard, flat and precise to teammates who didn't even have to break stride to receive them. Last night, against a strong Rangers team, Mailloux was able to break down the Rangers game on a number of occasions with his elite passing skills. On one play, when he made a 100 foot pass to Gallagher, which sent him on a partial break, Mailloux looked like Joe Montana passing to Jerry Rice on a deep slant. This kid has the best first pass since Subban at his peak. But Mailloux has to be a more efficient skater and generate more speed or we are going to continue to witness extended painful moments where we will be trapped in our zone like we saw in the Islanders and Rangers games. Will it happen? I don't know. I think we will have a better idea by next training camp.
It was good to see
Suzuki play like the Suzuki who earned the captaincy of this storied franchise. Without Suzuki at his best, we will challenge for 1 OA next June.
The play and steady emergence of
Kapanen continued. He was excellent on face offs and wasn't bullied or intimidated by a much larger, stronger and skilled Rangers team. This kid is a player and will be an important piece for this team going forward. I can't see Hughes not keeping him for the whole season. But who knows.
I thought
Anderson continued his strong play. While the ship that hoped Anderson would be a constant 20 to 25 goals per season has probably sailed, he played with determination and speed last night. If he continues this level of commitment, I can readily see a playoff bound team trying to acquire Anderson as a fast, physical depth piece at the trade deadline. I don't think we can realistically expect a better outcome than that.
As for
Hutson, I can almost feel the wave of discontent and disappointment among segments of the fan base. Hopefully, this young talented player doesn't become the new whipping boy of the team. Yes he made a grievous turn over that led to a goal. It will happen again. It happens to all players. Ask Matheson. But if you have unrealistic expectations of any player, those turnovers and errors become magnified. Hutson handles the puck more than any player on the team. The chances for him committing a mistake are obviously higher. He'll learn. He'll get stronger. He'll get better. Until then, just enjoy the level of excitement this kid brings. Right now his good plays far exceeds the bad ones.
As for the
team, though overmatched, I thought, other than a short period after that weak 5th Rangers' goal, the team competed hard. They stood up for each other. The game was a learning experience. They know how far they have to grow as players and as a team to become a winning team.
We need to be patient. I'm almost 80. If I can wait, certainly you youngsters can.