- Haha, suck it CotU. Tampa 6, Leaf 2. Being reported everywhere as "Leafs playoff chances take hit" . Like they had a chance in the first place;
- The Nucks become the first team to 100 points this season with a 4-2 win over the Wild, though that benchmark means dick all in the charity point era;
- Chicago's first win in over a week gets them to 4th in the West;
- At the NHL GMs meeting, Fuckface Bettman announced his five point plan for preventing concussions. None of the points was "punish the person who caused them". JT has a great take on the five points. The NHL Wheel of Justice has its own answers;
- On the same day, Sid skated for the first time since his concussion;
- Pronger needs surgery on his hand and will be out 3-4 weeks. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy;
- Your weekly power rankings have the Habs 8th (ESPN), THN is incomplete, and TSN DROPPED them a spot to 11th after noting they've won 6 of their last 7. Fuck you. The Rangers, SEVEN POINTS BEHIND US, are 9th. Fuck you. The Blackhawks, with a worse record, who lost all their games last week, are 4th. FUCK YOU;
- Habs Addict has compiled reactions from media and fans (including some dude named "Allen" from FHF) about PatCHes and the lack of suspension;
- For the second week in a row, FHF whipping boy Jack Todd speaks the truth;
- A reader ("WS") sent us some cartoons with Fuckface Cherry. We told him we already have the best Photoshopper around, so he went and started a blog with his work, including good Cherry stuff;
- For Montrealers who enjoy seeing Team 990 suffer, this is awesome;
- Our thoughts and prayers go out to Michael Farber, who has begun treatment for cancer. We actually met him back in the day, when he interviewed us for a Page 3 Gazette piece he did on our 1985 Reach for the Top team (long story). You're one of the good ones Michael, get well soon.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Game Day Skate for Tuesday, the Ides of March
Bullet points for what you missed while having nightmares of Internet Explorer 9..
Monday, March 14, 2011
The Morning Skate for Monday, March 14th
Bullet points for what you missed while dreaming of winning the Brier, eh?
- Tragic news out of Buffalo yesterday as Richard Martin, one third of the French Connection line died in hospital after suffering a heart attack while driving and then crashing. Godspeed, and our sympathies to his family. We remember watching him in the 70's, a true natural sniper;
- A couple of hours later, the Sabres went out and paid tribute with a 6-4 win over the Sens to move into 7th place in the East;
- Caps win their eighth straight, 4-3 over the Hawks in OT;
- Pens rebound from losing to the Habs with 5-1 over the Oil which officially eliminated the Oil from playoff contention, for all you Edmonton hopefuls;
- Wild finish in Dallas with the Stars getting the tying goal with their net empty, only to see the Kings score before they get to OT and win 3-2;
- Here's Coach's Corner from Saturday if you can stomach it;
- What happens to PPP if the PP sells its stake in MLSE? And The Globe says Rogers is passing.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Afternoon FHFun, was it good for you? cuz it was good for me! ~ Habs 3 - Pens 0 ~ Game Review for your Sunday spooning thread
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Saturday, March 12, 2011
Never Thought We'd Find Common Ground With Some Flightless Birds: Habs - Pens Preview and Open Thread
So it's really tough to get pumped up for afternoon games, like, ever, for me. And, to be honest, the cloud to which HF29 referred yesterday is still hanging over my head. As I said to GG when we were discussing what kind of picture to put with today's preview, my heart just ain't in it right now.*
I don't know how I feel about the NHL anymore. I won't go so far as to abandon my tickets (although, I can't bring myself to sign my playoff renewal right now... even though the deadline is this Wednesday). I love this team, but I am really starting to loathe the league in which my team plays. The fact that Fuckface Bettman will continue to destroy the game I love for another five years fills me with so much loathing, it's hard to put it into words. Are we condemned to watch the game continue to die right before our eyes until there's nothing left?
The problem is that I feel kind of powerless to do anything. Not showing up to the games would be an exercise in futility. Wearing a paper bag on my head to the next game I attend? Won't send a message if only a handful of people do it. The fans have no real power and it's clear that Fuckface Bettman doesn't give a shit if he loses major Canadian sponsors because, oh that's right, the real money is in fucking Arizona.
The one group that isn't powerless in this situation? The players. The Habs and the Penguins are the teams who (along with the Blues, especially given the latest news about David Perron) have been among the hardest hit by the NHL's Caveman attitude and jocular attitude towards violence in this sport we all love.
Hey there, boys. Your Association won't protect you worth shit. So here's an idea: Protect each other.
If I see any dirty crap during today's game, I may lose my mind. They know the danger that exists out there on the ice. It's time they fucking started to act like it. Starting today at 2:00 (on RDS and CBC - but avoid the CBC if you can 'cause you know Don Cherry is going to call us all a bunch of pussies).
To quote the great Ken Dryden in his SUPERB piece in the Globe and Mail: "The voices of the future will not be kind to us about how we understood and dealt with head injuries in sports. They will ask: How is it possible we didn't know, or chose not to know?"
The end of stupidity needs to begin with the players. Otherwise, they can talk a good game about being horrified and outraged about the current situation, but it's only going to be lip service. And my very real outrage, horror and disgust will continue to grow.
UPDATE: Go read this article RIGHT NOW by Andrew Cohen of the Atlantic (yes, it's still about PatCHes and the fallout from the hit). Many thanks to HI/O for posting the link to this brilliant analysis. The only way Fuckface Bettman will actually get a clue is if we continue this relentless chorus to help save the sport we love.
Comments? Thoughts? Sick of talking about this, already? Unable to think of anything else? Let's hear about it in the comments...
*(This is made worse by the fact that I still set my alarm in spite of my hangover/lack of sleep from my night of scotch-filled debauchery in which I only crawled into bed at 4:00 am, but I digress...)
Friday, March 11, 2011
There's a cloud hanging over the season now - Blues 4, Habs 1
Look, I don't want to write about PatCHes for the third day in a row. I'm sure you don't want to read about PatCHes for the third day in a row. But really, what choice do we all have? The "Incident" (upper case I) as I guess we're calling it now, is going to cast a long shadow over the rest of the season. The effect was more than apparent last night in St. Louis. So at the risk of another day of anonymous Boston assholes invading the comments (here I'll comment for you: "Waaa-waaa, Montrealers are such pussies, get over yourselves, it was all PatCHes fault for trying to skate by a defenseman, waaa-waaa, crybabies, it's hockey, it's a violent sport etc. etc." Now go away) I am going to have to talk about PatCHes for the third day in a row.
And once again, for the third day in a row, I'll remind us all to remember what's important here and that's PatCHes. In the awesome news department, PatCHes was released from the hospital yesterday and went home where he is recovering. That is a minor miracle. Get well PatCHes.
Discussion of the Incident is not going away any time soon. Yesterday it was in full effect. If you want to get angry, read what Fuckface Bettman had to say. BTW, anyone from the NHL head office will now be referred to as "Fuckface ___" by me. Then to get even angrier, read the most pathetic media statement in the history of the universe from the NHLPA. At least yesterday some in the media realized what a joke the league was. You can feel better reading Stephen Brunt (in Toronto no less!) ripping into Fuckface Bettman, or Michael Farber taking the NHL to task, or even perennial FHF whipping boy Jack Todd who nailed it pretty well. We can all cheer Air Canada. We finally heard from the team with a decent politely worded letter from Geoff Molson.Even the Prime Minister weighed in.
I am sure the rest of the league will go on with their lives pretty quickly, but that just won't be the case in Montreal. There are petitions and protests, and the criminal justice system is getting involved. Habs fans are angry, and will be angry for a long time. That's just the way it's gonna be.
But it's on the ice where we can, should, and hopefully will, seek redemption and justice. It just didn't happen last night. Last night, the entire team had its collective head elsewhere. We can't blame them. The fans' collective head was elsewhere too. They certainly get a pass from criticism for one game (well, except CHicken maybe). That was your freebie boys. Now we've got a question for you. How are you going to react to it the rest of the season? Are you going to play like last night? Or are you going to rally around the Incident as a "they're all against us, let's get 'em back by winning" kind of thing?
The one problem I see is that last night showed how important PatCHes was to this team as a hockey player. There is no one on this team who can replace what he was doing. And by having to try CHicken or Tits as the winger with Gio and Gomez, you've fucked with your 3rd and 4th lines. And clearly CHicken was not up to the task. He could not have played worse. To the point where he was benched in the third. Tits did marginally better, but he's just not the go to the net kind of power forward PatCHes is. In fact he's the opposite. And with PleXXXe and Squid really nowhere to be seen either last night, the top two lines were a mess. That's not good. We sure could use a Matt D'Agostini right about now.
Maybe three players showed up last night. TFS was great. He gave us every chance to win. He was really the only one who had that "let's do it for PatCHes" attitude. I thought Lego played a good game, he really worked hard. And despite his continuous refusal to shoot, the Mexican seemed to play pretty well too. But those three were it. The defense collectively was terrible. But like I said, last night was your free pass boys. Just put it together for Saturday. Do it for PatCHes.
The cloud over the season is going to affect everything now. It's even affecting FHF - my heart just wasn't in it for Sexy Friday today. We can only hope that in the long run, the cloud lifts. If it doesn't, the sky is gonna be falling pretty quickly.
Morning update - wanted to add this video. Well done, internet.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Fork in the Jaroad ~ Price's team vs. Halak's team ~ Game Preview and Open Road thread
How great is it to be a Montréal Canadiens fan, especially one who loves great goaltending, something the Habs have claimed to fame for decades. The best the game has ever had betwixt the pipes have played in our team's crease. Hainsworth, Plante, Vezina, Durnan, Dryden, Worsley, Roy, Esposito, Theodore, Vachon, Halak, Price and others. Some stayed for while, some left abruptly, some of their choice, some not. They all gave and still give us moments of pure joy watching save after save after ridiculously skilled save. Our second-latest hero, Jaroslav Halak was spectaCHular and took us further than expected in last year's playoffs. Merci encore Jaro. The team was then faced with moving or losing one or having the goalie controversy boil over into this season. They chose TFS™. The right CHoice. Thanks Bob and Tim. Price's play proves the decision was the proper one. Let's ride him!
Born to Be Mild ~ Blues are 22nd (30-28-9) vs. Canadiens (37-23-7) 9th league-wide.
Ramble On and on ~ Game is on RDS/TSN, 8PM EST
CHruisin' ~ Habs have 5 straight wins (6-3-1), keep the skate to the pedal.
Blues can't Drive 5-5 ~ Big OT win for the Blues last night (3-6-1).
Stop, in the name of ~ Pat Hickey's read on who is in the driver's seat.
Running on Empty D ~ No DarCHe, no SpaCHeck, no Gorjosh, no Vodkov, maybe no Sopel on a rope, no problem.
Paradise by the Dashboard Red Light ~ TFS™ vs. Jaro Blue.
Sweet HitCHiker ~
Little Red, White and Blue Corvette ~ Rev it up Squid.
Roadhouse Blues ~ Dags has slowed down since burnin' rubber at the beginning of the season.
Blog on Route 66 ~ It has a cool name, so thats nice.
Hit the Road, Jacques ~ CHocula puts in ? to replace PatCHes.
On the JaRoad Again ~ Halak is back home (19-11-4) and so is the Habs road game (16-5-1).
DDDrive My Car ~ 4 games, 4 points, give him the wheel CoaCH.
Magic Carpet Ride ~ Price is on one. Halak, not so much.
Life Is a CHighway ~ Hope PatCHes! recovers soon and enjoys a long career as a Habs. Get well kid. Wishes and words from our team's owner. (Thx to ezzeloharr for the link).
Dead skunks In the middle of the road ~ Fuck you chara. Fuck you bettman!
~ Riding With the King of the Road ~
Goalies for sale or rent
Dmen to let...fifty cents
No foe, no fool, just nets
TFS™ ain't got no cigarettes.
Ah,… two hours of pushin' broons
Buys a 32nd win versus the goons
TFS™'s a man of means by his team
King of the road.
Third wheel?, midnight trade
Destination … St. Louis, made.
Playoff worn out glove and pad,
Made the fucking Pens and Caps mad,
His smoking' save stories almost Cup bound
Short, but PHI was too big to pound
Jaro's was a man of means for that team
King of the road.
The trade was Goat-engineered, he can't take no blame
Took two of their prospects, Lars & Ian their names
And every FHFan in every town
Loves what Lego is bringing down
We love how his game has come around.
I sing,
Goalies for sale or rent
Pants! to let, FHFifty cents
No ice cream, no strippers, no meth
How about a CHannabis cigarette?
Ah, but, two hours of Googlin' youtube
Buys you this parody and some lube
I'm a man who'll give you a free ride
King of the load.
GYFHG!
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
OK, get out the pitchforks and torches. Now I'm pissed. (with a little legal lesson thrown in)
"So if you're looking for someone to lead the angry pitchfork mob, you've come to the wrong place. Until the NHL decides Bob McKenzie is right and gives Chara a token one-game suspension. Then we can go apeshit."
- me, in the last post
So I don't need to tell you that the NHL decided that it was even more of a pussy than Bob McKenzie. At least Bob thought Chara would get a couple of games. The NHL's wheel of justice landed on zero. Zero games. Zero fines. Zero condemnation of a sickening, sickening act. One that has left one of the brightest young stars the team has in a hospital bed, with a fractured C4 vertebrae and a severe concussion. PatCHes won't play again this year, and may never play again. He may never be the same person again. So before we go apeshit, let's once again remember what's important here - PatCHes. Please get well. We're hoping and praying for you.
On to the apeshit.
Actually, let's get to the legal lesson first. Bear with me here, it's important. Let's start with one of our resident lawyers, Panger, who wrote the following in an email to me and HF10, that was sent before the ruling came down:
I’m not sure that Zdeno should get away with that hit regardless of whether he “intended” to nearly kill him. Frankly, I doubt he intended to seriously hurt him. But the fact is that he’s 6’9, has been playing hockey his whole career, and ought to have known the potential danger to Patches. Isn’t the rationale behind the blind-side head shot rule to protect players when they are vulnerable? How much more vulnerable could Patches have been? But did Chara turn away? No, he clearly rubbed him out. He knew it; he didn’t care about the consequences. Reckless disregard. Maybe it’s not first degree murder, but it can still be murder if you’re reckless. He’ll get two games and someone will have to be killed on the ice for the NHL to start protecting its players.(emphasis added)
A criminal lawyer will tell you that you need to prove two things for a guilty finding - the "actus reus" and the "mens rea". The actus reus is the criminal act. I think we can all agree that Chara performed the act. Want proof? Here:
Mens rea literally translates to "guilty mind." The average non-lawyer person thinks that the guilty mind means intent. The NHL thinks it too. I walk into my girlfriend's house and put a bullet in her head because she was sleeping with my best friend (I'm the jealous type). I intended to pull that trigger. That's easy to understand. But intent is not the only mens rea. Depending on the crime and jurisdiction, you've got all sorts of other mens reas. Two of the most common? Recklessness and negligence. You get into a car drunk and kill a guy? Sure, you didn't intend to kill him, but damn fucking right by getting into a car and driving drunk you were reckless, and you are guilty. In Canada, if you are negligent and your actions cause someone's death, you are guilty of homicide (s. 222(5)(b) of the Criminal Code). You never intended to kill someone, but you are still guilty of murder.
None of this means anything to the NHL "brain" trust. Most of whom, I imagine, are lawyers. But their ridiculous fascination with the phrase "intent to injure" has gone beyond the perverse. To the point where a 22-year old kid almost got killed with zero punishment to the person responsible.
Now Mike Murphy, NHL VP of hockey operations, is not a lawyer. But he's still a fuckface. Here's what he had to say: "I could not find any evidence to suggest that ... Chara targeted the head of his opponent". Right. No evidence. Exhibit A:
No contact to the head there! FuckMurphy continued: "with both players skating in the same direction and with Chara attempting to angle his opponent into the boards." Right. Just a normal check into the boards! When patCHes was nowhere near the fucking puck. Not to mention that if they were both skating in the same direction, Chara would have been staring right at the fucking stanchion. He would have known what he was about to do. FuckMurphy continued: "This hit resulted from a play that evolved and then happened very quickly." Of course, hockey is a slow game! But this play happened so fast who knows what happened! And one more: "I also took into consideration that Chara has not been involved in a supplemental discipline incident during his 13-year NHL career." Well fuck me gently with a chainsaw. He's just a prince! And the next time he pulls some sort of shit, he still won't have been involved in a supplemental discipline incident. So no punishment then either! I personally have never been disciplined for chaining a stripper to a bed in my basement. So when I do that, no discipline for me!
My rage is no longer targeted at Chara, or the Bruins, or the violent state of the game that seems to excuse this kind of stupidity. My rage is directed squarely at the NHL, who have taken one of the most sickening things I've ever seen in my lifetime and turned it into a fucking joke, just a normal hockey play. I am fucking pissed. I know you are too. What do we do? I don't know. CJAD has started a Facebook group that wants "justice" for PatCHes. Unfortunately, justice in this case seemed to have been lost in a wave of NHL stupidity. But we have to find a way to channel this anger. I'm open to suggestions. It's not just for justice, it's not just for revenge, it's not just for PatCHes. It's for the state of the game.
PatCHes himself said it best: "I'm not mad for myself, I'm mad because if other players see a hit like that and think it's okay, they won't be suspended, then other players will get hurt like I got hurt."
Amen, PatCHes. Again, get well. We'll be mad for you.
Get well, patCHes (oh yeah, Habs 4, Bs 1)
I have to be honest with you. I've been lying in bed awake for three hours, dreading to write this post. When we decided at FHF headquarters eairler this week that I was writing the review of the Bs game, I was so stoked. Now, frankly, I wish I wasn't a Habs blogger.
I kid, I kid, I love this place and all of you guys. But really, I'm just dreading giving my opinion here. No matter what I say, it's going to be wrong. Everyone will disagree with it. Puck Daddy and other hockey blogs will link to this with the "FHF says that Chara hit was dirty" or "FHF believes Chara wasn't intending to injure" or "FHF says Chara is a big fat shaved gorilla". That's just way too much responsibility, and I don't want it. All I ever wanted to do was have some fun and make some jokes and ogle some half naked chicks.
So before I get this over with, let's take a step back and remember what's important here - Max patCHes is lying in the Montreal General Hospital. No matter what you thought of the hit, the aftermath was scary. You seriously could have thought he was dead. His eyes were closed and he didn't move for what seemed like an eternity. For 15 minutes there, I literally felt sick. Thank goodness the Habs organization knows how to use the Twitter machine, and we found out soon enough he was alive, conscious, and moving his limbs. This morning the reports have him suffering a concussion. Compared to death or a broken neck, that's great news. PatCHes, we're all thinking of you. Get well.
OK enough dilly-dallying, here goes. Hmmm...
*looks around*
*makes coffee*
*pours coffee*
*adds shot of Irish whiskey to coffee*
*drinks*
*drinks Irish whiskey straight from bottle*
OK, seriously, here goes. All I can tell you is what I see in the video. And believe me, I've watched it about a 396,567 times by now, on TV and YouTube, in fast speed in slow-mo, backwards and forwards and upside down. Here's what I see. Chara maybe starts hitting Max with his shoulder. However, pretty quickly that shoulder becomes a forearm to the head / neck area, and that arm extends, pushing the head / neck area away. And it's not like you can make the excuse that Chara towers over him, patCHes is 6'2", a giant among Habs forwards. Fact - Max did not have the puck. So what do I think?
Sorry sports fans still anxiously awaiting one stupid blogger's opinion, I still don't know. That may seem like a (possibly drunken) copout, but here's the problem. As HF10 wrote in an email last night:
"Ugly, reckless, stupid yeah. Malicious? Christ I hope not."
That's the thing, you can't really know what's in a player's head, can you? The reactions to this have varied from "a pretty banal hit that just happened in the wrong place" (Big fat Bob McKenzie) to "Chara knew exactly where he was and what he was doing and was getting even for Max's little shove in the back after that OT winner in the January game" (antiCHambre). Chara has denied he had any intent to injure. Do I believe that? Well, no, but I frankly have a hard time believing that even a shaved gorilla wanted to see a player killed or paralyzed. I think Arpon Basu summed up my feelings nicely: "I can't convince myself that Chara wanted that exact outcome. He wanted something, but not that."
So if you're looking for someone to lead the angry pitchfork mob, you've come to the wrong place. The problem is, this is just Day 1 of this discussion. We've all got to take a deep breath, be rational and civil, and politely disagree with each other. Until the NHL decides Bob McKenzie is right and gives Chara a token one-game suspension. Then we can go apeshit.
Oh yeah, Habs played a dynamite hockey game, using their skill and speed to cruise to a 4-0 lead before the incident. Too bad a dandy 40 minutes was forgotten in 2 seconds.
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Pretty Hate Machine - Bruins versus Canadiens Game Preview and Open Thread
The Bruins. Tonight. 7:30 on RDS, TSN-Habs and NESN. The first meeting since the black and gold went with their usual modus operandi bullshit 70's throwback tactics in front of their baying, loutish fans in that cheap-ass rink they own. Both teams remember the last meeting, but only the Habs remember that they've won 8 of 9 versus the their ancient rivals. Canadiens have won four straight, Bruins six. Revenge? Maybe. Hatred? Definitely. The Pretty Hate Machine starts now.
Hatred comes from the heart; contempt from the head; and neither feeling is quite within our control. - Alfred Schopenauer
The Bruins stir feelings of hatred more than any other. The Leafs? A hate born of national pride, but tempered by years apart. The Bruins and Canadiens have played more games against each other than any two franchises in NHL history and not one of them has been pleasant. Grown men froth at the mouth at the sight of a Bruins toque on the Metro or a Habs jersey in their local Southie pub. Familiarity breeds contempt; contempt begets hatred, hatred gets out of control quickly. Richard/Laycoe. Lafleur/Milbury. Nilan/Byers. Jonathan/Bouchard. Canadiens/Bruins always teeters right on the edge and it is the hate that does it.
To enjoy the things we ought, and to hate the thing we ought, has the greatest bearing on excellence of character. - Aristotle
Why do we hate the Bruins so? We hate because Eddie Shore was a dirty cheap-shot artist, because Jonathan, Wensink, O'Reilly and Milbury brawled their way through the 70's, because Esposito, Orr, Bourque and Neely were stars, because Neely always broke Montreal's back with a shot over Roy's glove, because Lucic demolished Komisarek, because Cheevers and Moog and Thomas and Frankie Brimsek gave the Canadiens fits. Because Bruins fans piss on visitors to their rink. Because the Boston Garden was a cramped, rat infested cesspool and the TD Banknorth visitors dressing room is the size of a closet. Because B's fans are proud of their team's lunchbucket, beat em in the alley ethos. Because for 100 years the Canadiens have emphasised Gallic flair, speed, skill and firewagon hockey and the Bruins have spent almost as long trying to choke the life out of it. We hate because Zdeno Chara is still among the league's best, because Tim Thomas is having an otherworldly season, because for all our taunts about Lucic being a talentless thug, he's on pace for almost 40 goals and we would kill to have someone like him. We hate because being a Bruins fan shows a deficiency of character that can not be redeemed. Because cheering for the Canadiens is a virtue, a guiding light, a truth.
Let them hate, so long as they fear. - Lucius Accius Telephus
It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not. - Andre Gide
Why do the Bruins hate us so? Hatred is often born of fear - and the Canadiens as a franchise have often been something to fear. Many a Bruins team has been swept aside by a Canadiens team that was more talented, but it is the shared history of talented Bruins teams being upset by heavy underdogs (1971, 2002, 2004) or being beaten by the slimmest of margins when the talent equation was nearly identical (1977, 1979, 1989) due to bad breaks, boneheaded mistakes, or Forum ghosts that tears a seam in the Bruins heart. They hate because they cannot win. They hate because Montreal's light continues to shine against their dark. They hate because Montreal stands up to bullying and triumphs more often than they lose. They hate, because as Lord Byron noted, "He who surpasses or subdues mankind, must look down on the hate of those below. " For most of their existence, the Bruins have been subdued. Their hatred is for what the Canadiens were then, and are now. The Canadiens are not the Bruins.
We have enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another. - Johnathan Swift
If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us. - Hermann Hesses
Both franchises hate because deep down, despite their divergent philosophies, there remains a part of the other in each. Montreal harbours a dark side that the Bruins bring out. Montreal fans revel in the memories of John Ferguson, tough-as-nails Dickie Moore, Larry Robinson's mystique as a fighter, Chris Nilan and John Kordic. The solution to Zdeno Chara and Milan Lucic was supposed to Georges Laraque. Shouts for Gauthier to call up muscle from Hamilton for tonight's game were deafening in some quarters. The Canadiens darkness is ever-present; nowhere does it manifest itself more clearly than in the days leading to a Boston game. In contrast, Boston's darkness has always needed the light to guide it. The Big Bad Bruins would have been no more than an afterthought without Orr and Esposito's offensive fireworks. Gentleman Jean Ratelle, Rick Middleton, Brad Park? All lauded for their exemplary play and conduct, despite their allegiance to black and gold. All the Lyndon Byers, Keith Crowders and Don Sweeney's of the world wouldn't have lifted the Bruins to Cup finals in the late 80's and early 90's without the talents of Ray Bourque. Even patron saint of overrated power forwards Cam Neely needed soft-as-tissue Craig Janney or passer extraordinaire Adam Oates. The current Bruins go nowhere without all everything centre Patrice Bergeron, smart vet Mark Recchi and Chara. Boston hates because no amount of bullying, brawling and thuggery wins without skill to guide it. Both clubs share parts of each other's religion, but never fully embrace the aspects they need from the other. They hate that part of themselves almost as much as they hate the image on the other side of the divide.
I hate victims who respect their executioners. - Jean-Paul Sartre
There is no honour in Milan Lucic fighting Mike Komisarek after Komisarek's shoulder was injured. Or in his engaging players already involved with others. Or his refusal to answer when called. There is no honour in Greg Campbell using a weapon on Tom Pyatt, or John Boychuk continuing to hit Jaro Spacek as he lay on the ice. There is no reason to respect Zdeno Chara's cheapshots, or Claude Julien's complaints or bush-league move of putting out goons to end a game. The Bruins have spent the better part of a century trying to smother the Canadiens in their sleep. There is no respect on their part, and as such, they deserve no respect in return. It's possible that the Bruins will win handily tonight; that they will bully and beat the Canadiens in scrums and on the scoreboard. That won't garner respect. Better Bruins teams than this one have fallen at the final hurdle. The Bruins have tried to be executioners to the Canadiens for their entire sorry existence and HAVE NEVER FINISHED THE JOB. One should not respect an executioner. One must refuse to be a victim. Montreal time and again has refused. They do so again tonight.
My hate will die with you. - Robert the Bruce, Braveheart
Tonight, our hate lives again. Win or lose. First or second. Our hate sustains us until the next. Montreal has its weapons of choice. Boston has its own. Fuel for the Pretty Hate Machine is never in short supply.
The Bruins Game Day Skate for Tuesday, March 8th
Bullet points for what you missed while having nightmares of the continuing integration of Canada's media landscape...
- We hope you like more than 60 minutes of hockey;
- Caps need a shootout win over the Bolts to keep first place in their division;
- Stars need an OT win over the Kings to win their 5th in 6 games and jump about 4 spots in the West clusterfuck;
- Blues need a shutout win over the BJs to, uh, keep their hold on 13th?
- TFS was the NHL's third star of the week;
- The lawsuit in Glendale we reported yesterday has been put on hold. We don't know what this means. What are we, lawyers?
- There's a whole kerfuffle about Bruce Boudreau calling Steve Stamkos a diver. Meh, whatever. How does this affect the Habs?
- Another set of GG11 Israel pics, just as good as the last ones;
- Your weekly power rankings roundup has the Habs in 11th (ESPN), 10th (The Hockey News) and 10th (TSN, who have the Bs FIRST. You know, to fuck with Habs fans after ranking their team so high for a change).
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