The Definition of Unsung
The following article featuring former Princeton standout Jeff Halpern appeared October 27 on the SB Nation Web site.
By Bruce Peter
Your Montreal Canadiens are off to a nice start to the year by all accounts. The team sits in a four way tie for first in the Eastern Conference with a 5-2-1 record heading into action Wednesday night against the New York Islanders. And while the team went on a run to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, it was far from a sure thing that they'd be able to come out and post a lot of wins out of the gate. The team relied heavily on special teams and goaltending last year, a formula that isn't exactly likely to hold up over time. The team's league worst even strength offense was a big concern, as was their seeming inability to draw many penalties. In short, they stunk at even strength, and with Jaroslav Halak and Marc-Andre Bergeron not on the team anymore, and Andrei Markov injured, the team's formula from last year (if it really was the team's strategy) was immediately thrown out the window.
The Habs have only scored twice on the PP this year so far, so the team's strong start has been keyed by even strength play. The team has also managed to mainly avoid the embarrassing shot discrepancies, save for that OT loss to Tampa Bay. So what has been the key to the success so far? The top line of Andrei Kostitsyn, Tomas Plekanec and Mike Cammalleri has been very strong, while the team seems to have found a reasonable defensive rotation in Markov's absence. Certainly, Carey Price has helped as well, but there's more to it than that. Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta have yet to make a real impact on this year's team after last year's strong playoff performance. While the fans like to focus on Jacques Martin's utilization of rookie Lars Eller or inconsistent scorer Benoit Pouliot, one man's contributions are either going unnoticed or simply aren't getting properly valued: the man that is doing the dirty jobs for the 2010-11 Canadiens, and coming up smelling like roses, is Jeff Halpern.
Complete article can be accessed via the SB Nation Web site by clicking here.
