Sunday, April 13, 2008

Habs For Breakfast - 2 Down, 2 To Go

Over 20 links here today, as there are many good reads apart from the game rundowns. Lots of stuff on Kovalev and not much of it redundant. You gotta love how the Montreal media turns over every stone. Lots of people say the media coverage is why Habs fan are weathered and wise.

Throw in neurotic and impatient in there too!

I've been posting from Brampton this weekend, where my daughter was involved in the Provincials tournament this weekend. I did a total Claude Julien impression Saturday afternoon, ragging out the refs. My kids Typhoons team went 1-1-1 in the round robin, but it was frustrating to see my kid score the only goal in a 1-1 tie, before she had two more goals disallowed that would have given her team the win. Me and the kid left pretty disillusioned.

I understand Julien this morning. Refs suck everywhere!

"We Haven't Won Anything Yet" - Gazette

""We were trying to get him off the ice, but he's like a pitcher who wants to be out there in the ninth inning," Carbonneau said. "I think if you asked Alex, he'd say he hasn't been playing his best hockey, but he's been our leader all season and he came through when we needed him tonight." - Pat Hickey

Julien Keeps An Even Keel - Gazette

"What the Bruins delivered last night was their Triple-A game. Hoo boy ... how they played en route from rallying from two goals down after two periods with two of their own in the third - and would have had more if Carey Price hadn't brought his 'A' game to the Bell." - Red Fisher

Habs Energy Line Brings Smoke And Fire - Gazette

"Maybe we could call them the Bing, Bang, Boom! line ... or Smoke and Fire (Smoke is Smolinski's nickname). Because when these three guys are on the ice together, bodies are going to be flying around. Basically, anything moving in an opposing sweater is going to get hit - and hard." - Stu Cowan

Bruins Left Steaming After Late Penalty Call - Gazette

"The Bruins were loath to overly criticize the officials since it was the refs who helped them get back into the game, erasing a 2-0 deficit with two unanswered third-period goals. David Krejci scored the equalizer at 9:34 of the period, while Montreal was two-men short." - Herb Zurkowsky

Kovy's Revenge - Montreal Canadiens.com

"Staring at the possibility of leaving the Bell Centre wearing goat horns should the Canadiens have gone down to defeat, Kovalev got payback in overtime by scoring the winning goal." - Manny Almela

The Numbers Game - Game 2 - Montreal Canadiens.com

"0 - Career playoff games in which Sergei Kostitsyn has failed to score a goal, after finding the net in each of the first two games of this series."

Kovalev Bails Out Habs - Globe Sports

"Canadiens forward Alex Kovalev made sure the game wasn't prolonged any further when he scored on a blast from the sideboards, 2:30 into the extra period. The shot appeared to change direction off the stick of Boston captain Zdeno Chara." - Tim Wharmsby

Habs Come Through On OT Powerplay - Faceoff.com

"Two nights after playing like they already had tee times booked back in New England, the Bruins scratched and clawed their way back from a two-goal deficit on Saturday night to force overtime against the Montreal Canadiens. And then the push stopped." - Sean Fitzgerald

Kovalev's Overtime Winner Beats Bruins - TSN

"It was a tight game where whoever got the bounce would win," said Kovalev, who is serving as captain in place of the injured Saku Koivu. "We expected them to come out better and they did.















Kovalev's OT Goal Lifts Canadiens To 3-2 Win - NHL.com

"We had more of an opportunity on earlier power plays and I had a better line to shoot with," Kovalev said. "But at the end of the game, I took the shot from the outside and it was a good switch for us."

Game Two Is In The Books, Kovalev Gets It Done - Dennis Kane's Excellent Montreal Canadiens Blog

"Aside from the fact that Montreal won the game, was that Don Cherry was proved wrong and full of shit by the instant replay. He went on and on about the high stick to the Bruin player’s face just before the guy took a penalty which led to the winning goal. But the camera showed that it was only a follow through from Markov’s shot, which Ron McLean, who is a referee, firmly stated SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A PENALTY."

Kovalev, Habs Get The Job Done Despite Playing With Fire - Lions In Winter

"Kovy cannot have two quiet games in a row, it is impossible. After a very good, but subtle effort in game #1 he came back with quite the opposite performance tonight. His play on Kostitsyn's goal was pure magic as he held the puck for over 10 seconds in their end, his OT goal was fantastic, but what will surely grab the most attention was his blatant slash on the back of Aaron Ward's very well padded leg. Controversy, magnificence, villain or hero, Kovalev did it all tonight." - Tobalev

Kovalev se fait pardonner - RDS

"Au cachot pour voir les Bruins créer l’égalité en troisième période, Kovalev s’est fait pardonner en laissant filer un boulet le long des oreilles de Tim Thomas au tout début de la prolongation, procurant une victoire de 3-2 au Canadien, qui s’en va à Boston avec une avance de 2-0 dans la série opposant les deux équipes."

Une excellente leçon pour le CH - RDS

"Dans un tel contexte le Canadien doit seulement travailler aussi fort que son adversaire durant 60 minutes pour sortir vainqueur. Avec un effort soutenu, je ne vois pas comment les Bruins peuvent mettre la main sur une partie. En plus de son talent supérieur, le Canadien compte sur un meilleur gardien en Carey Price ainsi qu’un avantage numérique de premier plan." - Benoit Brunet















"Roman, c'est la force tranquille"- La Presse

"Roman n'est pas le plus flamboyant, mais maudit qu'il est utile. C'est la force tranquille de notre défense", a déclaré Brisebois, admiratif de son partenaire. À un contre un, il est imbattable. Il écoule les pénalités, il bloque des tirs et quand il décide de frapper un adversaire, il le fait pour vrai. Ce gars-là est capable de tout faire, et tout ce qu'il fait, il le fait bien."

Chris Higgins s'impose au centre - La Presse

"S'il n'a pas récolté de point, Higgins a démontré de belles qualités en s'assurant de prêter main forte à ses défenseurs et en distribuant la rondelle avec agilité lors des sorties de zone." - François Gagnon



"Kovalev était frustré, a-t-il fait savoir. Il ne jouait pas aussi bien qu'il le voulait dans cette série. Il aurait notamment pu mieux jouer sur le premier but des Bruins." - Carbonneau

"Mais j'ai reçu des coups de bâton et des doubles échecs qui n'ont pas été signalés par les officiels. Je n'ai pas pensé à l'équipe quand j'ai écopé de cette pénalité pour avoir cinglé, mais j'étais frustré." - Kovalev

"Malgré une récolte de 10 points seulement en 58 matchs à sa première saison junior, le Canadien a cru bon de le repêcher. Il est un joueur qui apporte de l'énergie et il a démontré des habiletés insoupçonnées à son premier match avec le Canadien." - Marc De Foy

"Gorges et Bouillon ont un cheminement qui se ressemble étrangement. Ils ont tous les deux passé quatre saisons dans les rangs juniors. Ils ont tous les deux gagné la coupe Memorial à leur dernière année. Ils ont été des piliers à la ligne bleue de leur formation respective, mais ils ont vu toutes les équipes de la Ligue nationale les ignorer au repêchage." - Betrand Raymond

Des airs de carnaval - Le Journal

"La pluie et le temps froid n'ont pas freiné l'enthousiasme de milliers de partisans du Canadien, qui ont envahi hier après-midi les alentours du Centre Bell pour transformer le centre-ville en véritable carnaval bleu-blanc-rouge. Des heures avant le début du match, une musique festive et l'odeur des hot-dogs emplissaient déjà l'air. Sur la terrasse de l'édifice, impossible de faire quelques pas sans croiser les vendeurs de bière qui arpentent normalement les gradins à l'intérieur du Centre Bell." - Jean Louis Fortin

More from RDS, La Presse, and Le Journal.

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