There is absolutely nothing interesting going on right now with the habs. So to keep the blog alive, I thought I would start a little series about the many familiar faces we won’t see around next year. To be honest, given the current state of the blog, and my lack of time and motivation to write about the habs right now, I’m not sure that I will actually cover all of the habs who left Montreal this year, or even that I’ll write another post in this “series”. But whatever.
I decided to start with someone I really liked: Tom Kostopoulos.
What I liked about you:
Your name. Kostopoulos. Seriously, that’s one of the best names in the nhl. So close to Rastapopoulos, the unforgettable villain from Tintin…
But of course that’s not all. Like everyone, I liked your work ethic, and your great attitude during the two seasons you spent in Montreal. Carbonneau once said he’d like to have 20 Kostopoulos on his team. Well, that’s maybe one of the reasons why he didn’t end the season behind the bench, but that was a nice comment. And it spawned this nice little photoshop on hfboards:
(I’d like to credit whoever did this, but I just know it emerged on hfboards…)
What I didn’t like about you:
Your hands of stone.
What I’ll miss about you:
Your always surprising and delightful fighting techniques.
What I won’t miss about you:
Your fighting record…
A Kostopoulos moment I’ll remember:
There are actually several moments to remember. Firstly I just learnt that you were chosen to be the Grand Marshal of the Hellenic Community of Montreal in 2008. (Thank you wikipedia!) This is a pretty awesome accomplishment. You may not have a letter on your sweater, but the title of Grand Marshal is way cooler in my opinion. Suck it, Kovalev and your “A”!
Then of course, there is the purse incident in Tampa, where you were arrested with O’Byrne after the Rookies dinner. Good times.
But I’ve chosen something else, a little less flashy: an empty-netter that you scored against the Kings, in Los Angeles, in March or April 2008. It wasn’t a crucial game. It wasn’t even a special goal. But I remember it because it was against your former team, and you looked so thrilled. I still love this picture:
It’s more than time to post my little recap of last night’s game.
Boy, that was exciting! Well, I suppose it wasn’t that exciting if you’re a leafs fan of course, but that’s life… A fast paced game, lots of goals (and most of them scored by the good guys), a crazy building, and plenty of tension on the ice.
What I liked:
1 goal by Kovy, who is playing better and better
1 goal by Lapierre, who had a great month of december, and who seems to stay hot in 2009
1 goal by Kostitsyn (both of them actually, but I was thinking about Andrei). Andrei is back to his pooint per game production of last year, and it’s one of the best things that could happen to the habs.
1 goal by Pacioretty, who’s having the same kind of nhl career start than D’Agostini.
A good game by Halak. That’s two in two nights, after a pretty rough week. Good for him.
The amazing defensive play of White and then Schenn, who both desperately stopped the puck as it was about to cross the goal line, on the same action. Just look at the picture:
Ian White’s mustache makes this pic absolutely stunning
What I didn’t like:
Well, not much…
What I’m not sure I liked or disliked:
The unnecessary goonery.
Sure, it’s pleasant to see a game whith a few scrums, and a bit of tension. Especially if the public is really into it, as was the case last night. But at the same time, it went a bit out of control in the second period, when every whistle was followed by a scrum and a few vigorous facewashs. Brad May, who played his first game with his new team, was particularly aggressive for the Leafs. On the Habs side, Sergei Kost did nothing to cool things down. The presence of Grabovski did not really help, as there’s now clearly some bad blood between the Belarussians. Also, the Leafs were still angry at Kostopoulos because of his hit on Van Ryn back in November. So of course, the scrums turned into fisticuffs. Kostopoulos and Bouillon were successively beaten up by Mayers and May. And in the third, Grabovski lost his mind for a few seconds when he was prevented by a linesman to fight with Sergei Kost. He shoved the referee and waved at the crowd on his way to the locker room. He got a 3 games suspension because of this today.
Well, I think all of this was pretty unnecessary. It’s good that the Habs were not intimidated by those tactics, even without Laraque. I wish Big George had been there to meet Brad May though. After the game, according to the Toronto Star, May said the fights were “great,” and when a reporter referred to them as ugly, he said, “When it’s ugly it’s great.” Nice quote.
As for Grabovski, I’m disappointed by the whole situation. He didn’t play a lot in Montreal, and made the stupid mistake of missing a team flight during a road trip, because he was not satisfied by the way he was being used. Then, and probably as a result of this, he was traded to the leafs after last season. I liked him as a prospect, and I was sad to see him go. But it was the best thing for him, and he is having a good season with the Leafs. But it seems that the public won’t forgive him anything soon in Montreal. He was booed relentlessly yesterday. And his feud with Sergei Kostitsyn escalated to this stupid gesture in the third period. Honestly, I don’t think what he did was that big of a deal. Of course, you should never touch a referee, but it’s not like he punched him or something. Anyway, Grabovski still has a lot to learn I guess. He could be a better player if he just got rid of those things. I kow i’m in the minority here, but I still somehow like him.
To finish this post on a lighter note, I just want to pay a little tribute to our favourite little Greek (I know he’s Canadian, but still), Tom Kostopoulos, who once again showed he’s a poor fighter, but a great teammate…
(I’d like to credit whoever did this, but I just know it emerged on hfboards…)
Ian White’s mustache makes this pic absolutely stunning
The Soft European 