double back-to-backs
april 6th, 2025 | MTL @ NSH: 2-1
it's two consecutive games for BOTH of my teams, what! the timeslots are back to normal at least. although, i was surprised to realise this one is actually a road game! oof. brutal. well, how are they gonna perform then? let's take a look...
(by the way it's the french highlights video because the nashville commentators suck ass lmao. they're truly dogshit WOW. if you dont speak french, you can go find it urself.)
so! to start the game i gotta say. the habs look... tired. for sure! the puck was getting moved by nashville a lot and my habs are just not able to keep up with the pace. it felt worrying to watch! especially when mike matheson gets a brutal turnover that leads to a stamkos goal. man! i'm a mike maths defender ok, and he ended up playing like 32 minutes this game. the Thing with his mistakes isn't that he makes them, but rather how ugly they are. but i forgive you mike (just dont do it again pls 😭).
it's not great, but i still have belief in the habs to come back. they came back from last game after all! maybe we need a little tilt to get the boys riled up and... um. michael pezzetta is the guy fighting?? this is not l'effet pezzà-vu, i've never seen this before. and i mean. okay! it didn't really feel warranted, honestly, but sure! it wasn't super consequential but hey, anything to help right. well... nashville got a shorthanded goal right after. BUT!!! we challenged for goalie interference and called it right! wow. i didn't really think we'd get it. to this day i still have no clue what goalie interference is.
after that slog of a 1st, doby (yes, it is jakub dobeš in net folks!) seems to completely lock in, playing like he's got something to prove. and he proves it, he really does. unlike monty, doby is a more expressive goalie, more overtly emotional, more loose-limbed and dramatic. i like it a lot, i like that we have two contrasting types of goalies. and i know with this playoff push, doby hasn't really gotten much use, especially after his numbers came back down to earth. but i think ppl need to be more fair to doby (and monty too). being a habs goalie in the shadow of carey price is a monstrous burden.
and yeah, nashville doesn't get any more goals the whole game. guess who does though...
1: cole caufield!! it's a neat little shot that goes in five-hole, quick and skillful, the type of goal you Want cole to be making all the time. with this, he hits a new career high in points!
and 2: patrik laine!! a beautiful cross-ice pass from lane turns into a patty goal from his favourite spot—but this time, it's a 5v5 goal baby. who says patrik laine can only score on the powerplay! these two are Obviously working on honing their weapons, making their combination even deadlier. and oh! lane ties chris chelios with this assist for most points by a rookie defenseman!
and bam. that's all you need. i say that, as if i wasn't stressed out of my gourd for the last half of the 3rd, pacing around and wringing my hands and pulling my hair. this game was so unnecessarily close, so tight—and with the amount of penalties we kept getting, it only made it worse. geez! behave, boys! like yeah obviously we weren't getting sogs, we were on the pk basically the whole rest of the game! and doby was under SIEGE!!
he won it though. and he put it best when asked, what it says about this team that they are able to bounce back: "that we are ready for playoffs. that's it."
intermission
a quick moment to talk about our sponsor (lol no, could you imagine) things outside of the game recaps. i did not watch the Goal Record Breaking live, so i ended up seeing it on sportsnet wayyyy after the fact—and can i just say. ayo. they really stopped the game like right smack dab in the middle of the period to celebrate and interview and do the whole shebang? geez. if i was ilya sorokin i would not be thanking ovechkin, i would be big mad LMAO. and they didn't even win the game, the islanders won it 1-4, but not a single headline is gonna be focusing on it, which is frankly... idk if it's funnier or not. i mean, i would've preferred the caps to win, not bcos i'm a caps fan or anything, just because as a habs fan i don't really want any more threats to our playoff position! anyway. cool. it is what it is. i don't, like, super care, SORRYYYY I KNOW IT'S LIKE A BIG MOMENT FOR HOCKEY OR WHATEVERRRRhey guys did you know ivan demidov is so good i really hope we can have him come over to montreal sometime soon anyway onto the next game. OH I FORGOT TO SAY. congrats josh anderson on becoming a father!
april 6th, 2025 | VGK @ VAN: 3-2
ohhhh boy. i mean, last game was so euphoric, you guys. i didn't want to come down from that high so fast. but it's the fucking vegas golden knights. small mercies, i didn't actually have to physically SEE the golden knights until i got home for the third period. disclaimer: i was listening to this on the radio for most of it, so i didn't really watch the game. i could definitely feel it though... okay, okay, the score is right there in the header, i don't have to dance around it. let's jump right in.
look. this game started really well! we were getting shots on goal, we pressuring them. i wanted to have hope, i wanted to be optimistic. and y'know what, i was rewarded for it pretty quickly with a goal from...... from...... oh, sorry. not to steal someone else's bit, but you know i have to do it. we got a goal from (deep breath)
NIIIIILS.... BIG HOOOOOG..... HÖGLANDEEEEEEERRRRR!!!!!
wow. he's so back. big hog we missed you we rly did. unfortunately, our joy is short-lived. vegas retaliates TWICE: one goal from barbashev, and another from roy. fuck! i feel like that really took the wind out of our sails. especially since that second one was just such an unlucky bounce. 🚬🚬🚬 ahh, canuck luck...... canuck luck.
it really doesnt help that it was just me and batch and randip and my imagination for a good while there. batch kept mentioning that vgk had the best powerplay in the league and i just. augh. i GET it man. speaking of powerplay, how about that pius suter pp1 huh? he had a Great opportunity, but got robbed so hard, agh! i love pius suter. have i mentioned that? i dont think i have yet, omg. no but if you know me, you know i loooove pius suter, he's so underrated, so overworked. 1C, PP1, PK1, extra assistant coach—what doesn't he do?! you guys better have voted him for unsung hero in the team awards.
(click that picture to go vote btw. #ICommittedVotedFraudForPiusSuter)
anyway. now i've gotten all mixed up. right, aatu got a goal!!! right in the crease, nice and persistent. love it. vgk tried to get this taken away for goalie interference but naaaahhh bro nah. disclaimer again: i did not physically see this goal in the moment, i simply trusted batch & randip with my life. and in the intermission when aatu got interviewed he was like "yeah no i did not know at all whether or not that was gonna be a good goal" which, i mean, who Does. aatu's been solid since his call-up, i've always liked him and honestly? we really need to let our young guys shine. we are... not making the playoffs, so i feel like you might as well take the opportunity to give the kids more ice time (which is why i side-eye the lekky switch... cant we have hoggy AND lekky? why must you take one swede away. let this team be maximum swedish, please!)
unfortunately, even with lankinen doing the absolute most to keep us in the game, come the third period, olofsson buries it from right up close, super late in the game (this one i DID see) and... sigh. well. what can you do. they try to fight back, but the canucks are defeated.
let's find silver linings here. look, it's the vegas golden knights, who are currently first in the division (where we used to be in the faraway yesteryear season of 2023-2024... sigh). these guys are ontologically evil and will just ruthlessly kill anyone on sight. the fact that we survived to score 2-3 is, like, fine. it's whatever. honestly, this isn't the game i care about. it's the season closer against them that worries me. well, worries is the wrong word. i just don't think we'll win it. which, really just sums the whole season up. there's an air of defeat, and i don't like it! but what can you do when your team is run ragged and missing big chunks of it for the whole season? i think there's brightness in our future, but only if we cultivate it. our baby orcas are so good! the abby canucks are on like a 13 game streak?!?! like, there's hope here. we just need to keep it alive, even if this season is a wash.
anyway, it's way past 2am here, and i need to lie the fuck down. peace out ✌️
