Montreal mental lapses, All-Star ballot blunders and more

The going has been rough of late for the highly-touted Habs, who were flattened by the Leafs, 6-3, on Saturday night. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The Canadiens have lost just two games in regulation, but the citizenry in hockey-obsessed Montreal is getting antsy. In recent games against relatively modest opposition, Les Glorieux had to storm back in the third period to beat the New York Islanders, who were playing No. 3 goalie Yann Danis, and score a last-minute, six-on-five goal to force overtime in a shootout loss in Columbus, which had rookie Steve Mason in net. Then the Habs were thoroughly trounced in Toronto 24 hours later.

While some of the angst will dissipate as soon as Montreal puts together another run, there is a distinct problem area: discipline. Ten days ago, the Canadiens had to kill 10 penalties against Minnesota. Last weekend they gave up eight power plays in both of their games. Few of the penalties were of the Mensa variety, either.

With Montreal already killing a Blue Jackets power play, defenseman Roman Hamrlik took an inane hooking penalty that gave Columbus a five-on-three. And five minutes later, defenseman Mike Komisarek was detected holding Jackets forward Jared Boll. Although the penalty was in the defensive zone, a plugger like Boll does not figure to do much damage on the cycle. Then a night later at the Hall of Fame game, Tom Kostopoulos turned into the Van Ryn express, ramming Toronto defenseman Mike Van Ryn into the end boards and earning a five-minute major and a game misconduct. (Van Ryn, who spun at the last moment, scored the hat trick of a broken nose, a broken hand and a concussion -- he should be out about a month.)

Kostopoulos, a tough but generally clean player, didn't have many options but might have been able to ease up on the vulnerable defenseman. To his credit, Toronto coach Ron Wilson did not demonize the Canadiens forward in his post-game press conference, instead decrying hitting-from-behind in general and even mentioning one of his own players, Ryan Hollweg, who has a track record in this dim art.

Bear essentials

They might not have packed the new Garden in Boston for almost a decade, but Bruins fans deserve your heartfelt thanks for putting the hat back into the hat trick.

Even before the economy went into the tank worse than the Pittsburgh Penguins did in 1984 while trying to get the top draft spot so they could take Mario Lemieux, NHL fans have been reluctant to litter the ice with hats. With logo-ed caps going for $20 or more, you can't really blame fans for hanging on to them despite one of their heroes potting three goals. There are other ways to celebrate a three-goal outburst, like, say, having another beer or soft drink -- although given the gouging in some rinks, that also is going to cost a double sawbuck.

Bruins fans, however, have always been willing to buck the trend, apparently figuring that three goals are worth a traditional huzzah. The latest example occurred last Thursday when rookie Blake Wheeler's empty-net goal completed a hat trick and touched off a cascade of caps that gave the so-called bull gang at the Garden some unexpected clean-up work. There was no hesitation in the crowd, either, like you see in some buildings. Bruins fans, who at least pay attention, immediately identified the feat -- granted, counting to three isn't all that complicated -- and littered the ice with may 100 lids while showing off better arms than Johnny Damon used to display in centerfield.

The Bruins always have had the most elaborate hat-trick ritual in the NHL. It involves a life-sized stuffed bear that once resided in a corner of the dressing room and is now tucked away in the trainer's room. A Boston hat-trick scorer has been allowed to choose his favorite from all the hats on the ice and plop it on the bear's head, where it stays until the next hat trick.

But the Bruins bear is in different duds now. In addition to the caps that greeted Wheeler's accomplishment, a fan -- let's hope it was a woman -- threw a bra onto the ice, which veteran defenseman Aaron Ward conceded was a first in his career. A sheepish Wheeler autographed it, and now, well, the bear has more support than it knows what to do with.

Boston probably won't win the Stanley Cup this season, but it already has laid claim to the C Cup.

Ballot blunders

Clearly the NHL Hockey Operations folks are not avid readers of On the Fly. Days after Chicago Blackhawks center/left winger Patrick Sharp was named atop our second (and perhaps annual) Stealth List -- five largely unrecognized people in hockey whose contributions simply make their teams better -- he was left off the All-Star ballot. Sharp had 36 goals last season and was off to a fast start with nine through Sunday, a steady hand and consistent producer for a team on the upswing.

More curious was the omission of Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, an All-Star last season and late replacement who actually was credited with the victory in the game. You have to love a goalie like Thomas, the anti-stylist for whom every save is like a snowflake, utterly different than the next one. While the Islanders' injured Rick DiPietro, Philadelphia's Martin Biron and Atlanta's Kari Lehtonen made the ballot, Thomas was told, in effect, that he was not one of the top 10 goalies in the Eastern Conference. Absurd. He was overlooked even though he leads the NHL in save percentage.

You would think that two outstanding players on Original Six teams would have caught the NHL's eye instead of a player like Lehtonen, who plays in one of the least relevant markets in the league and never has won a playoff match.

Painful scratch

Phoenix Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky scratched rookie Kyle Turris last week for a game in Calgary. This would not have been considered a big deal -- it happens to rookies, even veterans, especially non-productive one, all the time -- if Turris had not had 100 family and friends in the crowd. In fact, it still is not a big deal. This isn't Senior Day at Duke. This is the NHL. Turris should have a successful career, but there will be bumps along the way. His family is advised that if it wants a closer look at him, it should consider buying tickets to the World Junior tournament in Ottawa. The Coyotes might be willing to loan Turris to Team Canada for the event that starts the day after Christmas.