Pro Sports Blogging

Ovechkin, despite playing two + minute shifts, doesn't get it done against Montreal and Jaroslav Halak in game seven, April 28, 2010.

I just don’t like Russian hockey players

I’ve heard people remark that the Habs won’t do much without Andrei Markov regardless of how Price or anybody else plays. Colour me a non-fan of Mr. Markov since last February.  Just prior to the Olympic break Montreal had a huge home and home with the Philadelphia Flyers and he opted not to play.  I remember telling Montreal radio colour commentator Murray Wilson that Markov would not miss a shift for Russia in the Olympics and he did not.  He let his coaches down, his fans down and more importantly his teammates. I lost tremendous respect for Markov at that point and in fact Montreal’s power play which has been tied to Markov’s play on the point and was abysmal at the start of the season has risen from the ashes somewhat and is now tied for 19^th as of this writing, 2.1% out of 11^th which is one of the great misnomers about the power play and penalty killing stat.  A percentage point or two going either way can drop or elevate you a half dozen spots in one night.  The top ten in PP are all over 20% and that’s pretty solid. Not quite where the 1978 Habs or the 1976 Islanders reside on the all time list but still circa 2010, that’s pretty good and granted Montreal are not there.   However, I believe if they keep it simple, dump in on the left side, overload that side, force the attempted shootout up the wall to a waiting Subban and let him hammer one on net or quarterback a quick pass, it will at least generate some chances.  Percentages dictate if you get PP shots you’ll eventually score. How many power plays do we watch and a team will not get a shot or can’t even gain the zone?  There are far too many. Keep it simple, no passes through the zone, don’t overplay it and you’ll operate at 20%. Either way I’m of the belief that Montreal can find their way to the post season without Markov or if Gionta and Gomez were to ever play consistently they would easily erode the Markov factor-such as it is believed to be- for the Canadiens.  We’ll visit Carey Price’s numbers at the 41 game mark but suffice it to say he is silencing the critics so far. Long way to go but out of the gate his play has been nothing short of sensational and it was by far the number one question I had about Montreal after the Halak trade.  By the way, that Islander team that sits second on the all time single season mark for power play percentages had a surprising contributor. His name will be at the end of this blog.

Ovechkin Kovalchuk love-in disgusting

While I’m on the topic of Russian players who drive me crazy, call me old school and yes, this news is a week old but I had to say something about a captain of a team after a 5-0 loss.  You’re a guy who is expected to score and you have two goals in your last nine games at that time so what are you doing shortly after your game is over? Laughing it up with a teammate and a member of the opposition, granted a teammate in International hockey and a fellow country man but if nothing else it showed a tremendous lack of respect for Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau and your organization to have that display seen in public. As talented as Ovechkin is that was a BS play. Washington has so much talent and obviously so does Ovechkin. He’s as exciting as anybody on the planet playing the sport but the Caps have some major unfinished business after last year’s playoffs and he has to play a significant role in that. I know that in the big picture it’s not like kibitzing with a member of the opposition is going to affect his game but the optics suck. It was brutal and I really wish Bruce Boudreau had of yelled something at them.

A brief history of Russian-born players in the NHL

There have been 185 Russian-born players in the history of the NHL going into this season. Most people are unaware of the first few.   Vic Hoffinger with the Chicago Blackhawks was the first in 1926. Johnny Gottselig also with Chicago in 1929 was the second and he later would captain the Hawks to a Stanley Cup becoming at that time the third non-Canadian to do so. (Dunc Munroe-Montreal Maroons 1926, Charlie Gardiner-Chicago-1934-and he was their goalie) Dave’Sweeney’Schriner was the third Russian born player who is listed as being born in Calgary but that is incorrect, he was born in Russia and moved to Calgary at a young age. Victor Nechayev was the first Russian-born and trained player to play in the NHL when he defected and played three games with LA in 1982-83.

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The Islander power play specialist in 1976 was Jude Drouin. Drouin was a slick little center man, about 5’10”who went about 160 pounds. The Isles had a phenomenal 1-2 PP unit with Drouin and a very young Bryan Trottier centering along with Denis Potvin playing pretty much the entire two minutes.  Drouin played most of his career with the Minnesota Northstars and later finished with the Winnipeg Jets.  The 78 Habs and the 76 Islanders are the only two teams on record has having finished with a PP percentage of over 30% at season’s end.

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Written by Liam Maguire
Liam Maguire is a twice published author who has been following the NHL professionally for nearly 30 years and as a fan for more than 40. Born in Montreal but raised near the small town of Kars, south of Ottawa, Maguire has turned a life long obsession with Canada's national sport into a pasttime primarily with his near perfect recall of the history of the NHL and his knowledge of the game in general. He has appeared on every national radio and TV show in Canada including Hockey Night in Canada and he has worked with more than fifty Hall of Fame players in one capacity or another. Maguire has a wide range of views on the game, often blunt, pulling no punches and substantiating thoughts with data and facts. He loves a debate almost as much as a cold beer and he continues to play the sport and coach it with almost ten years as a head coach in minor hockey under his belt. Feel free to send Liam a note or message at any time, he will respond to every single one of them.