Dennis Kane’s Excellent Montreal Canadiens Blog

I can’t say enough about how important it was that Montreal looked good against the dastartly and unsavoury New York Rangers on Tuesday night. These Rangers, or the Hell’s Kitchenettes as I like to call them, were down 3-0 to Montreal a couple of weeks ago and stormed back to win 5-3, which was right after Ovechkin and the Capitals had made the team look bad, and this was the beginning of the nightmare which included Toronto beating the Habs, then Ottawa clobbered them 6-1, then Ryan O’Byrne almost got thrown into Sing Sing, then the guys lost to Tampa Bay because everyone had a hangover.

It was a bad stretch, needless to say.

So tonight, I came home and the Rangers were leading 5-0 in the second period. I was already having a bad day, so this was the capper. Carey Price had been pulled after the first three goals. I thought about going to bed, even though it was 4PM Pacific time.

It was a nightmare.

But then, it started.  Michael Ryder, in a season long slump, scored a couple. Then Kovalev. Then Streit. And then Kovalev again, late in the game,  scored to tie it 5-5. The crowd was in a frenzy. Montreal, in their long and tremendous history, had never, ever, come back from a 5-0 deficit to gain a point. It was drama. Goosebumps. Shock.

The game went into overtime with the crowd singing their Olay song.  History was happening. A standing ovation was given to the boys from the Bell Centre fans. I hugged my wife.

Holy Smokes!

Overtime ended and it became a shootout. Nope, nope, nope, nope, Koivu - yep, Jagr - nope.

MONTREAL WON!   They came back even better than New York had come back two weeks ago.  What a sport! What a game! What a team! I hugged my wife again.

This sure helped my bad day.

And about that Cheez Whiz jar? It involves a roadtrip to Hartford, Washington, and New Jersey in 1988 but I can’t tell you anything else. It’s too immature. 

And Jim Wills, who was my hockey buddy back then, and who recently commented on the blog about becoming a Senators fan after a lifetime of being a Habs fan, was the guy who did all the driving while the rest of us relaxed.

 He knows about the Cheez Whiz jar.

I tried to be funny and it didn’t come out that way. So I’m coming out and apologizing for writing what I wrote about Ken Dryden, who by the way, is one of my all-time heroes, and who is also greatly admired by my Russian wife who watched him closely during the 1972 Canada-Russia Summit Series in her country.

I think Ken Dryden is one of Canada’s great men, and someday could be the leader of our country. His book, ‘The Game’ written in 1983 about his Montreal Canadiens is surely the great sports book of all time. He’s an intelligent, thoughtful, and I believe, very kind man, and was a terrific goalie.

Mr. Dryden has his thoughts on signing multiple items, and I appreciate that. Often, people only want things from famous people so they can turn around and make a buck. I’m not like this, and anything signed by Ken Dryden is for me, cherished.

I didn’t mean for anyone to get into any trouble regarding my post (which, I’d like to say again, was meant to be silly and lighthearted, but as I re-read it, it looked pretty darn serious.)

And of course I would vote for Dryden. This athlete-turned-politician , to me, is the real deal.

This is big “I’m sorry” from me.

I had no idea of the power of the internet.

The photo above is of course long-time Philadelphia Flyer Bobby Clarke. He was the leader of the Broad Street Bullies in the early part of the 1970’s when they had such goons as Dave Schultz, Bob Kelly, Don Saleski, and Moose Dupont. Clarke was their leader, but any one of them could have beat the shit out of him.

The Flyers of the 1970’s might have gooned other teams, but when it came time for the Montreal Canadiens, these same Flyers behaved like a bunch of mice. Not only could the Habs play better hockey, but the big boys like Larry Robinson, Pierre Bouchard, and Rick Chartraw sent them home to their mommies, and Montreal won the 1975-76 Stanley Cup, their first of four straight.

Not only that, because Russian star Valeri Kharlamov was so vastly superior in 1972, Bobby Clarke broke the guy’s ankle with his stick during the Summit Series.

The 2007-2008 edition of the Flyers is a little bit the same as the thugs of the 70’s, with several suspensions for thinly-veiled attempted murders, but just not quite as good. Regardless, Montreal takes care of business. (Like a 5-3 win tonight in Philly, and catching Ottawa in the process.)

Unlike their lousy performances against Toronto, Ottawa, and the two Florida teams recently, Montreal played a nice, tight game against Philadelphia tonight on Hockey Night in Canada, and won 1-0 with Carey Price earning his first NHL shutout. Ottawa lost to New Jersey, which puts the Habs just two points behind them, the closest they’ve been all year.

So life is good, for 24 hours at least, when they play the Flyers again, only in Philly instead. Imagine if Montreal wins this game too? It’d be like peeking through a keyhole at Pamela Anderson, Angelina Jolie, and Sophia Loren cavorting in a hot tub. It’d be like Pamela, Angelina, and Sophia seeing me peeking through the keyhole, and waving me in.

It’d be that good!  Well maybe not as good as that, but pretty darn good.

On Coach’s Corner tonight, Don Cherry got into a rant about good Canadian players taking a back seat far too often to European players. This is the thing I like about Cherry. He defends the Canadian boys, says Canadians are the best, just like he speaks highly of our Armed Forces people. And for anyone from another country reading this, no offence. Don’s being patriotic. And good for him. You would be too.

Anyway, for your reading pleasure, here’s a breakdown on Montreal players and where they’re from:

Montreal has:

10 Canadians. ( Begin, Kostopoulos, Lapierre, Latendresse, Ryder, Brisebois, Dandenault, Gorges, O’Byrne, and Price.)

4 Americans.  (Higgins, Bouillon, Smolinski, and Komisarek.)

2 Russians.  (Kovalev and Markov.)

2 from Belarus  ( Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn.)

2 from the Czech Republic.  (Plekanec and Hamrlik.)

1 from Finland.  (Saku Koivu)

1 from Switzerland.  (Mark Streit)

And 1 from France.  (Christobal Huet.)

Because Rick pulls his 53 foot trailer between Ottawa and Montreal, he listens a lot to Montreal sports talk radio in his truck. The other night, the topic on his radio was a french television show that talks hockey. And what he reports is pretty surprising. Take it away, Rick. 

“Today’s big topic was about last night’s 110% show on TV. It’s on french TQS channel and has a bunch of Quebecers who don’t like any Hab who isn’t a native of Quebec. Some of the panel include Michel Bergeron, Jean Perron, and a bunch of other know-it-alls.

“Anyway, last night they were bitching about Tom Kostopoulos (english) playing and Steve Begin (french) sitting out. PJ Stock, who guests at times even with his limited french, was trying to make the point that at least Kostopoulos will drop the gloves and fend for himself and his teammates. Then guest Michel Beaudry called Kostopoulos, on live TV, “Kostfuckupolis, to quite the chuckles from the other guests. And he thought that was so great, he said it again.

“The whole show revolves around shitting on non-french players. And the point PJ Stock, as well as half the city of Montreal was making, was that Maxim Lapierre’s habit of stirring up shit on the ice and leaving the mess to Bouillon or Kostopoulos to clean up has to stop. Insiders say even his own teammates are sick of it, and if he decided to clean up his own mess, he’d gain more respect from his teammates.

“So on the radio last night, all the greeks and anglos, as well as many french, were calling in about the name-calling on live TV.

“Just another day in Montreal.”

“In other news: I heard Chris Nilan in an interview with old teammate Gary Galley, and he’s a GREAT interview. Also, Jean Beliveau said that what happened in Florida was no big deal, but the idea of players making rookies buy 500 dollar bottles of wine at rookie dinners wasn’t right. He said as captain, he would never allow that. He doesn’t agree with rookie dinners at all. In his day they had their own initiations, but he wouldn’t elaborate.”

Thanks Rick. Now get back to work.

Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, and Yvon Cournoyer have come out in public and said young guys coming up now with the Habs don’t understand what it means to wear the jersey. This follows on the heels of the Ryan O’Byrne nightmare. The three have said that you have to wear the CH with honour and dignity, or words to that effect.

Honour and dignity was the second thing I thought of after the incident came out in the news. The first thing I thought of was about how they’d just got slaughtered by Ottawa and now they’re probably going to lose to lowly Tampa Bay because they’ll be sluggish from partying. Which they were, and did.

But enough said. Now we turn to the dastardly Philadelphia Flyers for a home and home Saturday and Sunday. Philly has 65 points, maybe 67 depending on tonight’s clash with Tampa Bay, but they’ve been in a bit of slump recently. Montreal has 69 points and have also been in a slump. So they’re close.

And Montreal may be better drinkers but there’s no way of knowing, really.

I also have a confession to make. I’ve been quite hard on Flyers rookie Steve Downey in previous posts, but I heard a story about him lately that has made me change my thinking a little. When Steve was eight years old, he and his dad were driving home from a hockey practice and were in a car accident. Steve’s dad was killed.

So I’m going to let up on him from now on. As long as he doesn’t run someone else in a game and cause an injury.

Evening update!  Philadelphia just lost 5-3 to Tampa Bay, their fifth straight loss. This can mean one of two things. The Flyers will suck Saturday night, or they’ll break out and play like crazy. Or both teams will suck. Or both teams will break out.  Or…..never mind.

IT’S 5PM EASTERN TIME on the day of the game in Tampa Bay and I’m wondering if most of the hangovers are gone now from the Pursegate fiasco. I hear that Ryan O’Stupid will dress tonight but Tom Resistingcopoupolos won’t. Is it just me, or in O’Stupid’s mug shot, does he have a bit of a smart-ass smirk on his face? Red Fisher, the man I’m going to take over for someday, says in the Gazette that it’s unbelievable how stupid some players are today.

IT’s 7:05 PM ET, game time, and no sign of any hangovers yet. Of course, it’s hard to tell because they’re only standing there as the anthems are played. Tom Resistingcopoulos is a scratch tonight. I wonder if his new prison tattoo is bothering him.

FIRST PERIOD’S OVER and with a late goal by Tampa, it’s now 2-2. Montreal needs to talk things over in the room, have a few beers, and  maybe have a quick nap. It always worked for me after a big blow out.

There’s a large sign behind the glass that says ‘Hey O”Byrne, You Dropped Your Purse.’

SECOND PERIOD’S OVER and Montreal’s flat as flat can be. They’re just lucky they’re playing Tampa and not Ottawa. It’s still 2-2. Montreal needs to have a few more beers in the room and try to shake the hangovers. You know, hair of the dog and all that.

GAME’S OVER and Montreal loses 3-2.  They basically stunk tonight. I wonder why? In all seriousness, how could they celebrate so heartily in Tampa after getting humiliated in Ottawa like they were. And I’m not joking about the hangovers. How is it possible to prepare properly for Tampa when you’ve been up half the night partying, and surely would be tired all the next day, and possibly even game day.

I’ve got nothing left to say. I’m very disappointed in my team.

A statement by the Montreal Canadiens has been delivered, and they’re saying Ryan O’Byrne had been part of a rookie dinner party with Carey Price and Sergei Kostitsyn. (Rookie parties, where rookies pay the very large tab for the rest of the team, are standard practice in any sport). 

So it’s now being swept under the carpet with no excuse for why O’Byrne just happened to have a woman’s purse, her twenty dollars, and her cell phone in his hand outside of the bar at three in the morning. Or why several teammates gathered around the cops to try to slow things down. And when coach Carbonneau was asked how he felt about nearly half his team being out at 3 am, he replied. “They’re adults and can do what they want. There’s no curfew.”

None of this sits well with me, so if it’s being swept under the carpet, they’d better win both games in Florida, and even both games against Philadelphia after that.

I have no time for shithead rich athletes, even if they’re Montreal Canadiens. My personal feeling is that O’Byrne, if all this is what it says it is, shouldn’t be a Montreal Canadien. There’s too much history, class, and reputation in the organization to be ruined by such stupidity.

Anyway, here’s the latest newspaper report if you feel like reading it. 

NO DISCIPLINARY ACTION FOR CANADIENS PLAYERS ARRESTED AT TAMPA NIGHTCLUB.

TAMPA, Fla. - Two Montreal Canadiens players arrested Monday morning outside a Tampa nightclub will not face disciplinary action from the hockey club.

Rookie defenceman Ryan O’Byrne and veteran winger Tom Kostopoulos were arrested at about 3 a.m. outside Whiskey Park, a Tampa nightclub.

Police said that O’Byrne, 23, stole a woman’s purse while Kostopoulos resisted an officer. O’Byrne told police it was his girlfriend’s purse, but police said it belonged to another woman.

O’Byrne was invited to take a seat in a police cruiser. At the same time, a group of club-goers, including several hockey players, surrounded the car. On a number of occasions, police say they ordered the group to disperse.

Kostopoulos, 29, was charged with resisting an officer without violence while O’Byrne was charged with grand theft. Both players were released on bail, accompanied by teammates Christopher Higgins and Cristobal Huet.

The purse, minus $20, and the phone were returned to the complainant.

O’Byrne had a right to a phone call and called his friend Higgins.

Neither player had much to say after spending the night behind bars.

“I can’t talk, the lawyers will take care of the affair,” said the hulking O’Byrne after practice Monday. “I hope that we can resolve this as quickly as possible.

“I apologize to my teammates and I don’t think this incident will bother the team.”

Kostopoulos also kept mum.

“I can’t say anything. But I am sorry,” Kostopoulos said.

“After our team meeting, Bob Gainey reminded us all there was a lesson to be learned from this incident. I am happy the team decided not to punish us.”

The consequences could have serious implications for both players. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services could ban both players from entering the U.S. if they end up with criminal records.

Canadiens GM Bob Gainey arrived in Tampa at 9 a.m. Monday and found out as he disembarked at the airport.

“My message is that this is serious business,” Gainey said. “It’s a shame that it happened. It’s not a pleasant event. It happened during an annual team dinner.

“Unfortunately we can’t go back, we must go forward. We will try to diminish and also eliminate the negative effects this story will have on our team.”

Gainey offered no excuses for his players and did not defend them either.

“They must face whatever awaits them after their actions,” Gainey said, adding he had no idea what awaited either player in the days and weeks ahead.

Head Coach Guy Carbonneau called the incident “deplorable” and something you never like to hear about, but he said he has to get the Canadiens ready to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.

“We are in 2008, it’s not the first year something like this has happened,” Carbonneau said. “The two players were not suspended but I haven’t decided yet if they will play against Tampa Bay. We met with them to hear their version. We wanted to know the truth.

“It’s too bad, but at least no one got hurt.”

O’Byrne had just been recalled from the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League and had been part of the rookie dinner, a tab he split with fellow rookies Sergei Kostitsyn and Carey Price.

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Copyright © 2008 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Canadiens defenceman Ryan O’Byrne and forward Tom Kostopoulos spent last night in a holding cell in the Tampa jail after they were arrested outside a South Tampa night club early this morning.

O’Byrne was charged with grand theft, while Kostopoulos was charged with resisting an officer without violence.

Both were freed shortly before 9 this morning after posting bail. O’Byrne’s bail was set at $2,000, while Kostopoulos has to pay $500.

They were arrested around 3 a.m. outside Whiskey Park, a popular watering hole in South Tampa. The incident started when a woman set her purse on the counter top, according to the police report. She noticed it was missing and allerted the bouncers. They saw O’Byrne outside with the woman’s purse in one hand and her cellphone in the other.

Canadiens’ Ryan O’Byrne.

Bruce Bennett, Getty Images

According to the report: “Several associates, who were identified as National Hockey League players/members, crowded around the officers and the police car. They were told numerous times to get away from the car and not to interfere.”

Kostopoulos was arrested when he refused to obey the police order.

The Canadiens declined to comment on the situation until after a 4 p.m. practice.