ODE TO LATENDRESSE

Latendresse looking happy at practice last year. (Photo taken from habsinsideout.)


Note: I apologize in advance. Enough said.


In the wondrous city we call Montreal,
Stood a guy named Guillaume at 6’2 feet tall.
Hockey was the sport he called his own,
The Habs were the team that he called home.

The media loved him, the fans did too,
So much so, that he skipped some steps, just a few.
Coming straight from the Q to the NHL,
The media pressure put him through hell.

His name was heard often while watching a game,
Even more often when he wasn’t in the frame.
The media praised him, and he became cocky,
This was a distraction from playing his best hockey.

A point per game, they thought he’d get,
Compared him to Crosby, which made some upset.
They may not take the blame, but I think they should,
They drove him out of town, like we all knew they would.

Minnesota is now his new destination,
From what I hear their winters are no vacation.
We wish you bonne chance, avec politesse,
We’ll miss you notre ami, Guillaume Latendresse.

REGULATION ZEROS / OVERTIME HEROES

Mike Cammalleri on his way to score his shootout goal versus the Bruins Thursday night.(Photo taken from habsinsideout.com).


posted by habsbloggergirl

Price’s expression at the end of the shootout Thursday night said it all. The game’s first star was a mixed bag of emotions; confident, tough, determined and even a little frustrated. And, he had every right to be.

For what seems like the millionth time, the Habs played one of their signature wishy-washy games: good enough, but not wonderful, for most of 3 periods, only to have it crumble in the last few minutes.

Another night, another trip to overtime. It’s so common this year that it’s not even that much of a novelty anymore. We have only had 1 win in regulation. ONE. It reminds me of those Leafs jokes that have been going around the past few weeks, you know the... “What does a triangle have that the Leafs don’t?” ones (the answer being 3 points)? Kinda sad that it can easily be applied to us (3 points in regulation anyway).

But then again, is it? Sad, I mean. We may not be able to finish during the game but we sure as hell finish during the extra five and the shootout. Our goalies seem to handle the extra pressure extremely well (in fact in most cases Carey and Jaro were the real heroes), and our forwards and D-men step it up. And we win. Every single time.

I don’t know about you, but lately I have almost felt relief when we went into OT. Sudden death OT should not = relief.... but for some reason, this year it does. We know how to finish and we want to, but can’t seem to do it in regulation... but in OT something changes.

Maybe we are just generous. Here Toronto... 2 games, 2 points on us, free of charge! Atlanta? Here’s one for you too, no need to even ask! And the Islanders... since we beat you by so much the first time, one for you too, no big deal!

Maybe we thrive in pressure situations.

Maybe we are only willing to take a risk when it matters most.

Who knows?

But more importantly, who cares? Its working right... why question it?

The thing is, there may come a day (cross your fingers that it’s not in the foreseeable future) where we won’t be able to finish. What then?

What then indeed.

Instead of waiting for that day to come, let’s hope the Canadiens can go on a scoring spree the next few games and rack up a few regulation wins. They have been working overtime this season (no pun intended), and with all the injuries on defence, they deserve a little bit of a break.

Though it’s a little too early to think about playoffs (though come to think of it, it’s never too early), today we sit in 8th, just one point ahead of Tampa.
Coincidentally, we are playing them tomorrow night. We need to win, and although the Habs love to give, it’d be nice to be on the receiving end of two points tomorrow night, within the 60 minutes.

Though if we do go to overtime, I wouldn’t be too worried.