Skilled note-taking

I'm doing things a little bit differently today.
I've already written a piece on the team's bi-polar nature (Consistently Inconsistent), I just recently wrote about Scott Gomez playing a strong game (Passion Play) - with both of those trends continuing on Wednesday against the Capitals, I really can't think of anything new to write about. So today, for your viewing pleasure, I present my game notes.

I mean that quite literally. I take handwritten notes during each game. Sometimes as few as three pages worth, and sometimes as many as 7 pages.

In short, Scott Gomez continued his excellent play in the offensive zone, but was lax on defense. Carey Price would love to have the second and third Caps goals back. The Power Play continues to be brutal.



First Period

18:45 - Bourque fights Hendricks. Wins fight. Answers bell for hit on Backstrom.
17:53 - Kostitsyn has a nice feed to Eller who fans.
15:19 - Matt Perreault scores. Perreault uses Gorges as a screen, shoots through the legs to opposite side of net. seeing-eye shot. Price sees nothing. 0-1
11:55 - Montreal leads shots 4-3
11:37 - Johanssen scores. Caps have a 3on2 through the middle of the ice. Johanssen leans on the puck, fights through a lazy backcheck of Kostitsyn while putting the puck short-side over Price's shoulder. 0-2. Price will want it back.
9:46 - Eller in on goal shorthanded, shoots wide.
7:20 - Gomez digging for a puck in o-zone, skating hard.
7:02 - Blunden takes a feed from Gomez, rips a shot, blocked by Caps defense.
6:59 - Erskine trips Darche, Habs to P.P.
5:52 - Weber sends a pass to Cole in front, but it goes wide. Pacioretty takes a feed from Kaberle, can't control.
4:55 - Penalty killed. 2 decent chances created off point-plays.
4:47 - Shots favour Montreal 6-4.
4:46 - Wideman gets 2 minutes for playing with a broken stick. Montreal back to the Power Play.
4:25 - Kaberle does a decent job gaining the zone, but is knocked off the puck easily by Hamrlik. Hamrlik easily clears down the ice.
"Kaberle hasn't made any impact on Montreal Power Play since his acquisition" - Ray Ferraro
3:00 - Subban gains the zone, passes to Kostitsyn, quick pass over to Gomez, shot on goal, saved.
2:23 - Gorges & Emelin sandwich Ovechkin.
1:43 - shots 7-5 favouring Montreal.
"Coming off a terrific game Sunday night, the rested team, Montreal, has had a pretty flat first period" - Ray Ferraro.



Second Period

19:00 - Semin in on a breakaway - stopped by Price.
17:12 - Cole taken down on a drive to the net. Montreal (0/2) heads to the Power Play (1/13).
15:39 - Gomez gains the zone, fires on goal. Noone around for a rebound. Hard shot on net, but if you're the puck carrier, noone will be ahead of you when you shoot. duh?
13:57 - Rene Bourque on a breakaway clangs off the post.
12:07 - Darche clips Johanssen with a high stick which draws blood. Washington to a 4-minute Power Play.
10:36 - shots evened up at 8-8.
9:16 - Ovechkin scores off the right point. Usually he plays left point (just above face-off circle) so defensemen block his shots. With a screen in front and Ovechkin on his opposite side, he buries a one-timer. 0-3.
8:05 - Gomez spins, turns, shoots -saved, rebound is picked up again by Gomez, blocked by Caps defense.
7:45 - Gomez in again towards net, shot gloved by Neuvirth.
"Gomez has been showing good legs tonight. Neuvirth has been sharp on him" - Ray Ferraro
4:48 - Desharnais drops a pass to Cole, his shot is stopped by Neuvirth.
4:40 - Good point shot. Pacioretty and Cole create traffic in front, and Desharnais feeds the puck through the crease. Neuvirth is strong on a Pacioretty tip.
3:27 - Moen sends a bouncing puck in front to Plekanec, but his shot trickles wide.
2:41 - (Gomez, 7:41 ice time, 3 shots on goal).




Third Period

17:26  - Erskine elbows Darche, then a high stick drawing blood, again on Darche, same shift. Habs head to Power Play for 6 mins.

At this point, I paused the PVR, had supper, watched regular TV with the wife, and got back to the game hours later. I didn't take any notes for the final bit, as if the result had already crystallized for me. The Canadiens' Pacioretty would take a Penalty during the long power play. Neither team would score. Canadiens would continue sending pucks Neuvirth's way for the rest of the period, but nothing of the dangerous variety. Final shot tally would be 31-17 favouring Montreal, but where it counts, the Caps were up 3-0.

Off to Pittsburgh.