Fisher story in today's gazette on Theo/Zed/etc
Jan 2, 2003 10:54:25 GMT -5
Post by MPLABBE on Jan 2, 2003 10:54:25 GMT -5
Good read folks!
www.faceoff.com/nhl/teams/canadiens/news/story.html?f=/news/20030102/030102News165512.html
January 2, 2003
Canucks next on goalie Theodore's hit list
Stars in tie against Calgary. When Habs goalie says he's all the way back, he isn't kidding; just ask Flames
By RED FISHER
Montreal Gazette
Once again over lightly: he's back - and Montreal Canadiens goalie José Theodore gets to prove it again Thursday night against the Vancouver Canucks.
After struggling for much of the first half of the season, Theodore has allowed only 13 goals in his last seven outings.
His game-saving 1-1 New Year's Eve performance in Calgary was highlighted by a remarkable stop on Martin Gélinas with seven seconds remaining in regulation, one of many he was to deliver among his 30 stops, including one on a breakaway by Jarome Iginla in the second period.
"He's going to make a lot of people happy in the second half of the season, starting with me," goaltending coach Rollie Melanson said yesterday. "Like he says, everything we've seen about him in his last seven games tells us he's back to stay."
No Way José is doing it the hard way, tonight taking on a Vancouver Canucks bunch that is still simmering over Tuesday's 5-3 loss to the injury-riddled Toronto Maple Leafs - after taking a 3-1 lead on three power- play goals in the first period.
"We're still trying to figure out how we did it," said Leafs assistant coach Rick Ley, whose team occupied rooms in the hotel across the street from the Habs. "We go into the game without Mats Sundin, Alexander Mogilny and Michael Renberg, our three top forwards. We don't have Shayne Corson and Gary Roberts. (Nik) Andropov gets hurt during the game. ... Somehow we did it."
Tonight (10 p.m., TSN, RDS), the Habs - winless in their last four games - will have to find a way to do it against one of the NHL's elite teams, if only because they still must face quality in Edmonton on Saturday night and New Jersey on Tuesday.
"We can't control how the Vancouver players feel going into the game," coach Michel Therrien shrugged following yesterday's practice at GM Place.
"We could have won in Calgary, but we still came out of it with a big point. Both teams played hard. Both goalies were great. And I still can't believe the stop he (Calgary goaltender Roman Turek) made on 'Zed' in the overtime."
"Zed" is Richard Zednik, whose 17th goal of the season erased a 1-0 lead the Flames had taken early in the second period during a horrible line change by the Canadiens. With three forwards racing for the bench, Denis Gauthier had no problem sending in Chris Clark alone for the goal.
"I'm happy with the tie," said Theodore, "but maybe I should have come out a little more ... challenged him a little more.''
Clark's goal came 2:04 into the period. Zednik, who's the Canadiens' best forward this season, got it back 10 minutes later, deflecting a Patrice Brisebois shot that rolled up the goaltender's arm and dropped over the goal-line.
Zednik needed a tad of luck getting that shot beyond Turek, who faced 24 Canadiens shots, but there was nothing "iffy" about his breakaway opportunity 1:20 into overtime. "I was going for the five-hole," Zednik said. "I didn't quite make it, I guess."
"The problem is that Zed grew up admiring Turek," Theodore said with a smile. "He was still thinking about him on the breakaway," he added.
Zednik had five of the Canadiens' 24 shots against the Flames. "I look at him (Zednik) now," said Therrien, "and I'm thinking what's he gonna be like two years down the road. He's so strong. You can't move him out from in front of the net. You can't move him off the puck. We've got some good, young players coming up ... and I can't wait."(what?? MT can't wait for the good young players to arrive? Hainsey playing more as well...could he be possible getting better at this job? )
One of them on Tuesday was Ron Hainsey, whose 15:53 mostly alongside Stéphane Quintal, probably sentenced Karl Dykhuis to a second consecutive game as a healthy scratch. And what that means is that the Habs will be going with the same lineup. Oleg Petrov, who joined his colleagues in Calgary, remains on the injury-reserve list and can't play tonight.
He skated alone yesterday, but the plan is to have him work out lightly with the team this morning.
Petrov also won't play in Edmonton on Saturday night, but should be in the lineup on Tuesday night against the Devils when the Canadiens end their post-Christmas road trip in New Jersey.
By that time, he will have missed eight games over a period of precisely three weeks after suffering a sprained MCL against the San Jose Sharks.
www.faceoff.com/nhl/teams/canadiens/news/story.html?f=/news/20030102/030102News165512.html
January 2, 2003
Canucks next on goalie Theodore's hit list
Stars in tie against Calgary. When Habs goalie says he's all the way back, he isn't kidding; just ask Flames
By RED FISHER
Montreal Gazette
Once again over lightly: he's back - and Montreal Canadiens goalie José Theodore gets to prove it again Thursday night against the Vancouver Canucks.
After struggling for much of the first half of the season, Theodore has allowed only 13 goals in his last seven outings.
His game-saving 1-1 New Year's Eve performance in Calgary was highlighted by a remarkable stop on Martin Gélinas with seven seconds remaining in regulation, one of many he was to deliver among his 30 stops, including one on a breakaway by Jarome Iginla in the second period.
"He's going to make a lot of people happy in the second half of the season, starting with me," goaltending coach Rollie Melanson said yesterday. "Like he says, everything we've seen about him in his last seven games tells us he's back to stay."
No Way José is doing it the hard way, tonight taking on a Vancouver Canucks bunch that is still simmering over Tuesday's 5-3 loss to the injury-riddled Toronto Maple Leafs - after taking a 3-1 lead on three power- play goals in the first period.
"We're still trying to figure out how we did it," said Leafs assistant coach Rick Ley, whose team occupied rooms in the hotel across the street from the Habs. "We go into the game without Mats Sundin, Alexander Mogilny and Michael Renberg, our three top forwards. We don't have Shayne Corson and Gary Roberts. (Nik) Andropov gets hurt during the game. ... Somehow we did it."
Tonight (10 p.m., TSN, RDS), the Habs - winless in their last four games - will have to find a way to do it against one of the NHL's elite teams, if only because they still must face quality in Edmonton on Saturday night and New Jersey on Tuesday.
"We can't control how the Vancouver players feel going into the game," coach Michel Therrien shrugged following yesterday's practice at GM Place.
"We could have won in Calgary, but we still came out of it with a big point. Both teams played hard. Both goalies were great. And I still can't believe the stop he (Calgary goaltender Roman Turek) made on 'Zed' in the overtime."
"Zed" is Richard Zednik, whose 17th goal of the season erased a 1-0 lead the Flames had taken early in the second period during a horrible line change by the Canadiens. With three forwards racing for the bench, Denis Gauthier had no problem sending in Chris Clark alone for the goal.
"I'm happy with the tie," said Theodore, "but maybe I should have come out a little more ... challenged him a little more.''
Clark's goal came 2:04 into the period. Zednik, who's the Canadiens' best forward this season, got it back 10 minutes later, deflecting a Patrice Brisebois shot that rolled up the goaltender's arm and dropped over the goal-line.
Zednik needed a tad of luck getting that shot beyond Turek, who faced 24 Canadiens shots, but there was nothing "iffy" about his breakaway opportunity 1:20 into overtime. "I was going for the five-hole," Zednik said. "I didn't quite make it, I guess."
"The problem is that Zed grew up admiring Turek," Theodore said with a smile. "He was still thinking about him on the breakaway," he added.
Zednik had five of the Canadiens' 24 shots against the Flames. "I look at him (Zednik) now," said Therrien, "and I'm thinking what's he gonna be like two years down the road. He's so strong. You can't move him out from in front of the net. You can't move him off the puck. We've got some good, young players coming up ... and I can't wait."(what?? MT can't wait for the good young players to arrive? Hainsey playing more as well...could he be possible getting better at this job? )
One of them on Tuesday was Ron Hainsey, whose 15:53 mostly alongside Stéphane Quintal, probably sentenced Karl Dykhuis to a second consecutive game as a healthy scratch. And what that means is that the Habs will be going with the same lineup. Oleg Petrov, who joined his colleagues in Calgary, remains on the injury-reserve list and can't play tonight.
He skated alone yesterday, but the plan is to have him work out lightly with the team this morning.
Petrov also won't play in Edmonton on Saturday night, but should be in the lineup on Tuesday night against the Devils when the Canadiens end their post-Christmas road trip in New Jersey.
By that time, he will have missed eight games over a period of precisely three weeks after suffering a sprained MCL against the San Jose Sharks.