February 28, 2009

My Sharks, tired and flu-riddled that they are (and have been for a few weeks now), came in to Montreal to take on the surging Habs, now with added Mathieu Schneider-goodness. They left with a lose. And Montreal added another win, and a perfect night on the power play (ok, so they only had one power play). But here is a run down of Mathieu-ness: he has 20:25 of ice-time (including the entire 39 seconds of PP time), he was a +2 (on the ice for all of the Habs 3 goals and neither of the Sharks goals), and had an assist.

THE GAZETTE/John Mahoney; via habsinsideout.com

So for those counting at home, that is 5 points in 5 games since returning to the Canadiens. He's had 12 shots on goal in the tme (though none tonight). He's still hovering around a -3 because of that ugly game number 2 back; he can't dig out of that hole mainly because of the fact he's gotten all of his points on the power play (thus no +1 for those). Game summary: Markov (Plekanec, Schneider), 11:05 of 1st (PP).

Add-on tidbit: Before February 16th, the Habs were converting on about 16% of their power plays. Since his returned, Montreal has converted on an obscene 11 out of the last 25 power play opportunities, or 44%. Whoa...

Still some more about the power play

This article gives more insight into the resurgent power play in Montreal since he return of Mathieu: Mathieu Schneider's Impact in Montreal. Take a look... some very good stuff in there.

I will note that they are a bit early calling him "40-year old defenseman." Hey, I turned 30 last year, and I was not ready to be called anything but 29 until 12:01 on April 17, 2008 (technically I could have waited a couple more hours, because I was born at 3 AM). Let's not give Mathieu that extra year until it's earned.

Mathieu shown some media love

Sometimes you have crappy weeks.

Sometimes they are super crappy, like a your-family-is-crazy, you-just-dropped-over-a-grand-at-the-dentist, and you-sleep-maybe-a-total-of-4-hours-over-a-48-hour-period ('cause you're stressed about your crazy family and your mouth hurts from the dentist) kind of super crappy.

Add to that your favorite hockey team decides to tank a game against a big rival and your second favorite player is only 1/6 of the way through a 6-8 week injury absence (and his team is so crappy without him they may not be around long enough for him to return possibly in the playoffs), and your super crappy week magically turns into an ÜBER-crappy week.

That was the kind of week I was having.

But... nothing makes a week better than logging on to tsn.ca/nhl and seeing a Mathieu-palooza!

(screen capture of tsn.ca/nhl at about 9pm, February 27, 2009)

Lead story, lead photo, lead video. Awesomeness! Thank you TSN!

Then, Ross McKeon over at Puck Daddy goes and names Mathieu his first star of the night.

"No. 1 star, Mathieu Schneider, Montreal Canadiens:
More than anything else, Mathieu Schneider was recently acquired to boost the usually-potent, but suddenly inefficient Montreal power play. He couldn't have picked a better time to ignite the special teams' unit on Friday night. Schneider's goal 3:21 into overtime came when the Canadiens had the man advantage, and enabled Montreal to beat the Flyers for a sixth straight time in Philadelphia. Schneider has three goals in his five games with Montreal since coming over from Atlanta, and all three have come on the power play. Schneider also had the primary assist on Montreal's first goal of the game, a late first-period marker that cut the visitors' deficit to 2-1. Schneider was a plus-1 with three shots on goal and blocked three of Philly's shots during 25:44 of ice time."

Thanks to you, too, Ross McKeon! (Not only for that, but for years of Sharks coverage at the SF Chronicle. I miss him around there.)

February 27, 2009

Tonight on this beautiful Friday night, I'm sitting at home, with my plants, enjoying a burger, fries, and beer, watching the Habs take on the Flyers in Philly via Game Center on my computer screen. (Be jealous of my social life) The game is mostly a cluster-you know what from the beginning, but it all changes halfway through overtime. In that overtime, over the course of a little under a minute, Mathieu has his first three shots on goal of the game... and the game winning goal. Boo-yeah!

yeah, that was the same face I made
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Ryan Remiorz)

He had an assist earlier in the game. He had 25:44 of total ice-time, was on the ice for both Montreal power play goals, and finished a +1. He wasn't one of the 3 stars because Keith Jones of Comcast Sportsnet picked them and he's apparently still bitter about Mathieu dumping him over the boards into the bench in 1996. (I have that hit on a VHS tape somewhere-- it was awesome¹)

Want some audio? You got it! Courtesy of the Montreal Gazette.
Want some video? Sure! Take a look at the goal via NHL Network Online
Wants some pis from the game? The Gazette's got you covered again. And yet some more.
Want an on camera interview? TSN's provides (at least for the next few weeks before the link dies)

Game summary: Plekanec (Schneider, Kovalev), 16:25 of 1st; Schneider (Kovalev, Koivu), 3:21 of OT.


¹I thought I had a picture of it, too. And digging through my archives o' images, sure enough, I do. It's tiny and crappy, but remember that the Internet was not all that hot in 1996. I must have grabbed it off of an AOL news story.

Yet more "Mathieu Schneider is old"

Ok, Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette. I'm all for rhetorical hyperbole, but calling Mathieu a "relative fossil"? Ouch. He's not that old! =) And there are 6 players older than him in the league right now anyway (it was 5 after Luke Richardson's retirement, but then Claude Lemeiux, 43, came back).

Besides, you can't deny he looks damn good for a 20+ year veteran of the National Hockey League staring down the barrel of age 40. Half the NHL doesn't have hair that awesome!

February 24, 2009

Mathieu's streak of points in each of his games with the Canadiens ended, but the Habs still picked up a 3-0 win, and picked up another goal on the power play, giving them 8 PP goals in 4 games. He had 18:35 in ice-time, 8:45 of which was on the power play. Though without a point, he was on the ice for the power play goal in this game.

Bad trades for LA

This is why I love my Google Reader news feeds. I find stuff I would have never seen otherwise. This comes courtesy of the examiner.com, which has some weird relationship to the San Francisco Examiner, a once proud publication that was famous for being run by William Randolph Hearst, he of "yellow journalism" and starting the Spanish-American War fame.¹ Several years ago, the Hearst Corp sold the Examiner in order to buy the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Examiner has since become a crappy tabloid that is given away for free on BART.

Anyway, the online site sometimes does have some interesting, if somewhat random, gems.

Five in-season Trades the Kings Would Like Back:

....March 11, 2003 – Acquired Sean Avery, Maxim Kuznetsov, a 2003 first round pick and a 2004 second round pick from Detroit in exchange for Mathieu Schneider. Acquired Tim Gleason from Ottawa in exchange for Bryan Smolinski. As a player, Dave Taylor was an intelligent and crafty player, who used his hockey IQ to maximum capabilities. As a general manager, well, sometimes the results weren’t what he hoped for. This date was one that didn’t work out well at all for the club. Smolinski helped the Senators reach the conference finals that season, and eventually the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007. Schneider helped the Red Wings compete in the playoffs over the next several years. In return, Avery was a divisive and toxic presence in the locker room, the two picks (one traded away, the other Jeff Tambellini) didn’t exactly work out, and Kuznetsov last just a season and a half...

¹Ok, so he didn't really start the war, but he is credited for being one of the single most important factors in the United States' entrance into the conflict by inflaming American opinions of the Spanish by publishing sensational accounts and images (created by famed artist Frederic Remington) of Spanish treatment of Cubans in his New York paper in an effort to win readers from a rival New York paper run by Joseph Pultizer. You know the famous line, "You furnish the pictures, I'll furnish the war"? Yeah, that was Hearst. And apparently the renowned film Citizen Kane is based loosely on Hearst's life.

Video

Want some video to go along with the audio commentary? TSN has just that when the asked Mathieu about the few days of rest coming up for the Habs.

Here's a rough transcript, transcribed by me, at 11:30 at night, after 10 hours at work and a harrowing drive home surrounded by horrible California drivers who don't understand that 80+ mph on a flooded freeway is probably not the best idea in a pouring rain*:

"It's a grind, without a doubt. It's impossible to play your best 82 nights out of the season, with the travel schedule and just the fact that there is not an easy night in this league anymore. Any team can beat any other team on a given night."

See the video here: http://watch.tsn.ca/nhl/clip142932#clip142932

My experience is that those videos say up for a couple of weeks. After that, I'm sure this link will die. But enjoy while you have the chance.


*And Caltrans, how 'bout when you close the right two lanes of a freeway you don't put up the old sign that says "left two lanes closed." Yeah, it kind of does a disservice to us drivers when you don't turn off the "merge right" sign when you shut the right bore of the Caldecott Tunnel. Or at least put up one of those blinking arrow signs that you can see from space. It's pretty hard to see your last minute token traffic cones in the driving rain! Sure, I saw it coming, but Mr. Minivan-with-Nevada-Plates and Mr. I'm-a-Speeding-Jackass-Mustang sure didn't until the last minute. If only Mr. Minivan-with-Nevada-plates had my view of that near miss, I think he'd need a clean pair of shorts. Ah, ignorance is bliss and I hope he has an unevent rest of the night.

More stuff regarding the power play

An article in today's National Post leads off with the sensational title "Schneider Denies He's a Power-Play Saviour," or savior for us Americanos. But just looking at the stats, one could see why Mathieu's first week as a Canadien has been meet with such praise:

• The Canadiens went 7 for 12 on the power play since he returned (58%)
• Since his return, the Canadiens have risen from 25th to 17th place among league leaders in power play success

But Mathieu is quick to play down some of these numbers down:

"We scored three power-play goals in my first game and I touched the puck once (on those three plays).... This is truly a team game. There's no such thing as a saviour. I'm just hoping that I can bring a calming influence, a little leadership."

There is some really good stuff in that article, so I suggest taking a look at it for more quotes and tidbits.

Oh, and...

I wrote up a guest post for the All Habs fan blog re-introducing Mathieu to Montreal. Check it out: Get to Know Mathieu Schneider... Again

It's a good complement to the collection of numbers the Canadiens' official site had in their Schneider v2.0 piece.

(Thanks All Habs!)

Some stories to read

I'm catching up on some older blog postings / news stories from the week. Short of anything more creative, here is a listing of stuff from the week that mentioned Mathieu is some way and hasn't been posted yet on this site.

Mike Boone from Habs Inside/Out had this following Mathieu's first game:

"Mathieu Schneider didn't make a bad play all night. His un-nervous, veteran savvy was a big boost to Andrei Markov, and he provided Streit-like point presence on the PP. I don't know that they'll bring him back for next season, but Schneider would really help Ryan O'Byrne."

The official Canadiens site has a "numerical look at Mathieu Schneider," including things like rank among defenseman of all-time in power play scoring (10th), percentage of career points that have come on the power play (52%), and combined +/- rating since 2003-2004 (+79).

There are also articles from The Hockey News and ESPN about Mathieu's journey coming full-circle (not much "new" stuff" in either, but I thought I'd mention them).

February 21, 2009

Better game today, as the Habs return home and beat Ottawa 5-2. Mathieu had a goal, making that three points in the three games since his return. After logging almost 25 minutes each of the last two games, he got a bit of a rest and only had 18:54 of ice time. It showed as he seemed to be much better positional (at least based on the little that I saw last game).

Patrice Brisebois also scored, giving the 1993 Habs 2 points in this 2009 game.

THE GAZETTE/ Pierre Obendrauf (via habsinsideout.com)

Another interesting tidbit: Since the trade on Monday, Montreal has gone 7 for 12 on the powerplay. Mathieu has been on the ice for 6 of those 7, getting all three of his points on the PP. And here's the post-game audio from the Montreal Gazette. Interesting comments. Everything from what he does on the power play, to eating last night at his favorite Montreal restaurant, to how he plans to survive in hockey-mad Montreal.

Game summary: Schneider (Koivu, Higgins), 3:25 of 2nd (PP); (high-sticking), 3:59 of 3rd.

February 19, 2009

Well, at least the first game was good. This night, not so much. Mathieu wasn't on the ice for any goals against yesterday, but he was for 4 of the 5 goals against tonight. Ouch. I missed a lot of the game, so I can't say if he was at fault for any of those goals against. I'm sure the answer to that will be loudly proclaimed by fans and Montreal press. He did, however, have a goal. Yay! He had 24:17 of ice time, more than anyone else on either team. Over 5 minutes of that was on the power play. Game summary: Schneider (Markov, Kostitsn), 15:04 of 2nd.

And again, some post-game audio from the Montreal Gazette. Not as cheery as the last two.

Off-Topic: Cast musings

Luckily, Brad Richards' distal radius fracture doesn't require surgery. All he'll need is time and a cast. Personally, I thought he should have picked a cast with stripes to go along with the pinstriped suits he favors. But, alas, as reported to me by someone who spotted him on the sidelines of the Stars' practice yesterday, it's just a plain, dark one. I'm sure a dark one won't clash with his outfits, but it makes this post almost totally irrelevant because you can't really write anything legible on something dark. Then again, when are my random posts ever relevant anyway? Thus I present to you...

Things that would be awesome to see written on B-Rad's cast:

• I told you this would happen if you didn't stop fighting so much!


• Get well soon! xoxoxo Vinny xoxoxo


• Sorry I broke your wrist -- Jakub Voracek


• Lobster Bisque
5 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

3 c. milk or 1 1/2 c. evaporated milk and 1 1/2 c. water
1 c. bouillon or chicken broth
1 lb. lobster meat
1 sliced med. onion
A sprig parsley
1/2 c. cream

Melt butter in large saucepan. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Add milk and bouillon gradually while stirring. Cook over low heat until mixture thickens. Add lobster, onion, and parsley. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Add cream. For bisque, strain through sieve before adding cream.

• On the bright side, it'll be like dating another person for 6-8 weeks¹


• Franger non flectar²


• You know they shoot horses for this


• $7.8 million a year and you're broke!?


• 

¹I know, I know. I'm sorry, I had to go for the low-hanging fruit (so to speak) and make a masturbation joke. At least I didn't come up with it. My friend Will gets credit for that one.

²It was between that, and my new favorite bit of Latin: te audire no possum, musa sapientum fixa est in aura. I'll let you utilize Google for a translation of both phrases.

February 18, 2009

In his first game as a Canadien, again, Mathieu did lots of things right, particularly on the power play... which was why he was brought to the team. The Habs went 3 for 4 on the power play, with Mathieu playing 2:48 of the 3:04 power play time (if I did the math right). He was on the ice for all 3 Montreal goals (and not on the ice for any of the three goals against). He assisted on the second goal. That assist was actually, oddly enough, his 200 point as a Canandien.

Here is some post-game audio from the Montreal Gazette.

And here is a first photo:

(REUTERS/Joe Giza; via Montreal Gazette / habsinsideout.com)

Game summary: Kostitsyn (Markov, Schneider), 17:03 of 2nd (PP).

#24

Mathieu joined his new Canadiens teammates (and one old Habs teammate, Patrice Brisebois) for practice in Montreal today before flying with the team to Washington, DC for Wednesday's game. He was also available to the media for questions, where he talked about coming to a team in turmoil (with Alex Kovalev being sent home for, well, sucking), being the go-to power play guy, and being older and more experienced (and hopefully wiser) than the last time he played for Les Habitants. He also confirmed that he will be wearing #24, the number his good buddy Chris Chelios wore for the Canadiens when Mathieu first join the team as a rookie.

"I called (Chelios) this morning and told him I was taking his number. He said 'you stole my job 15 years ago, you might as well take my number too. ' "

I wondered if he told Lyle Odelein, who wore #24 last time Mathieu was in Montreal. That was answered in the full audio available from the Montreal Gazette.

Off-Topic: I owe you an apology B-Rad

Sorry B-Rad. I kinda poked fun at you yesterday, and now I'm terribly guilt stricken. You really were in pain, and I called you a drama queen. Now you are out for 6-8 weeks with a broken wrist and I feel terrible. But just know that I kid, 'cause I care. =)

So, get better, heal, rest up, and pick out a cool color for your cast. Red is always nice, as Mathieu demonstrates here. Having Mathieu Schneider's kids sign it is optional, but really, really cute. (If you click on the picture you'll see it bigger, and you'll see little Matty Schneider's handywork) Hopefully, though, you'll figure a way to shave left handed and not get this scruffy. *

*Mathieu's excuse was the playoffs

Off-Topic: B-Rad, noooooooooo!

I was having a good hockey day. Mathieu was moved to the team I was secretly hoping for, he seems happy about the move, and complementary things are being said about him despite the ugly season.

BUT THEN... Brad Richards has to go and get hurt. I doubt Dallas will say what it is, or that anyone will know anything until at least tomorrow. (Looked like a separated shoulder to me) But I can console myself with the memory of him being a total drama queen last year when he tweaked his knee in a game versus Toronto.

He went down like he was shot, and withered on the ice like his leg was ripped off.


After several minutes on the ice, his teammate had to help him to the runway...


And then he had to be carried to the locker room by trainers...

He played the next game.

So, here's to hoping for the best. 'Cause if he is out for any length of time, I'll have to hurt him! =P

P.S. Whew! I'm glad I didn't book my plane tickets to go see Montreal at Dallas early next month. That would have been unfortunate.

P.S.S. And to be fair to B-Rad, he has only missed something like 2 or 3 games to injury in his entire career. He's pretty damn tough. Plus, I think he had mono during the event described above. It's pretty remarkable he was able to get off his couch let alone play when he had mono, so I'll give him mad props for that, too.


UPDATE: Looks like a broken wrist for B-Rad, per TSN.ca. See this face (as I point at myself)? This is my "I'm really not happy" face! My state of mind right now resembles something a little like this:

First comments

From TSN.ca, here are some of Mathieu's first comments:

I'm thrilled that it turned out to be Montreal.... this was certainly my first choice. I'm just thrilled. I can't say enough.

I absolutely plan to play another couple of years. Right now my body feels great. To me that's always what's going to be what dictates how long I play.

Here the audio at TSN.ca, plus comments from Montreal GM Bob Gainey.

SCHNEIDER TO MONTREAL!

MATHIEU HAS BEEN TRADED by the Atlanta Thrashers to the Montreal Canadiens! In return for Mathieu and a conditional pick, Atlanta gets a second round draft pick in 2009 and a third round selection in 2010

Thrashers Trade Defencemen Schneider to Canadiens (TSN)
Canadiens Trade for Schneider (CBC)
Canadiens Continue Nostalgia Kick, Trade for Mathieu Schneider (Puck Daddy / Yahoo!)

New links, added 3:00pm (Pacific time)
Canadiens Acquire Veteran Blueliner Schneider (Vancouver Sun) *nice picture included
Habs Acquire Mathieu Schneider (Montreal Gazette) *no new details as of when I posted this, but the story may be updated
Inside Schneider Trade (ESPN.com)

New links, added 6:00pm (Pacific time)
Did Someone Say Powerplay (official Canadiens page)
A Brief History of Mathieu Schneider's Career with the Atlanta Thrashers (The Blueland Chronicle)
Mathieu Schneider traded back to Montreal (Total pro Sports) *some new quotes from Mathieu
Schneider Deal Helped Thrashers (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
Thrashers Trade Defenseman for Draft Picks (Atlanta Journal Consitution) *includes some heart string tugging quotes from and about Zach Bogosian

February 15, 2009

Wow. Mathieu's first return to Anaheim since the trade ended in a slaughter. A duck roast. The Thrashers thrashed (huh huh) the Ducks 8-4. Whoa! In 20:02 of ice-time, Mathieu had an assist, 5 shots, a penalty, and registered a +2. Game summary: Peverley (Schneider, Reasoner), 3:57 of 1st; (holding), 16:38 of 3rd.

Semi-off-topic: There was a little write up about the criteria for "3 stars of the game" the other day. Terry Frei of the Denver Post brought up the issue because some times the 3 star selection seems off the wall, and he suggests that the system needs tweaking. I've noticed that sometimes the choices seem a bit far fetched too, but don't pay too much attention. But tonight gives some fodder to the discussion. In a 8-4 trouncing by Atlanta, Anaheim players were made 2 of the 3 stars. That's just ridiculous. Laughable. Embarrasing. Whichever SoCal media person picked those should be publicly scorned. Way to make a mockery of the 3 stars system, dumbass!

READ

What do the Atlanta Thrashers' players do on long flights this year? Well, wonder no more as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sheds some light on the activities aboard the team's charter plane. There is the usual video game playing, then there is this gem:

All those flights are no fun for Zach Bogosian, who takes motion-sickness pills. Fortunately, he’s good at sleeping on planes. When he’s awake you’ll see him talking with Mathieu Schneider, who’s armed with a book for when Bogosian nods off.

So, Mathieu reads. And talks to Zach Bogosian. And apparently tries to not get barfed on by Zach Bogosian. =)

P.S. The American Library Association has these iconic "READ" posters, where many famous folks pose with a favorite book and encourage reading. A couple of NY Rangers were in one a few years ago, and next time a hockey player pops up on one I'm so getting it for my office. I think Mathieu needs to be on a "READ" poster. I might buy 5 for my office. =)

I'm tempted to photoshop my own using this photo from a 1990 issue of Les Canadiens magazine:

500th career assist

My mouse has been acting funny lately, and today when aiming for one link on my Google Homepage, I mis-clicked and went to the wrong one. Not usually a big deal, but the link I went to was Mathieu's Yahoo! game log. Again, not a big deal, but while there something caught my eye: Apparently Mathieu had a three game point streak. Funny, I thought he had two assists last week. Well... actually he did have three as I learned today.

Upon further review, a couple of days later, Mathieu was awarded an assist in the Tampa Bay game. This assist was his 500th career assist. The game summary for that game has been updated.

So, a late, but hearty, CONGRATS!

February 11, 2009

Another quiet night, but the exact opposite results as Atlanta loses 3-1 to Chicago. In 20:15 of icetime, Mathieu had 2 shots and was even.

February 10, 2009

Quiet night for Mathieu as Atlanta beats Tampa Bay, 3-1. In 18:03 of icetime, Mathieu had 2 shots and was a +2. Game summary: Stuart (Perrin, Schneider), 9:52 of 1st (shorthanded)*

NOTE from 2/15/2009: After the game, Mathieu was awarded an assist on the first goal of the game (his 500th career assist).

Mathieu on being traded from Atlanta

I highly recommend that you check out Scott Burnside's article over at ESPN.com. One of the things he talks about this week is how it isn't necessarily true that players are anxious to get out of Long Island, Atlanta, or St. Louis. He has a lot of comment from Mathieu, whom Burnside says "will almost certainly be on the move again by March 4." Despite the bad year, and the horrible place in the standings, Mathieu isn't excited at the possibility to be traded so soon after coming to Atlanta.

One reason he would miss the team in Atlanta? Zach Bogosian.

"A big part of the reason I'm here is to work with [rookie] Zach Bogosian, and that's been an awful lot of fun for me. He's just a tremendous kid, and I've really enjoyed it and I would certainly miss him if I was traded"

As for the constant rumors, Mathieu still says he blocks out as much as he can. He's obviously been around this a long time, and he prefers to focus on the game, and take things one day at a time. So if he doesn't focus on the rumors, how does hear about them?

"All the speculation is fun. Honestly, I don't read any of it, to tell you the truth. Everything I hear is pretty much from my father-in-law in Toronto."

February 8, 2009

Another assist tonight, but another lose. He had 5:19 of ice time on the power play (and his assist came on the power play. Maybe Atlanta was listening when Craig Custance of The Sporting News suggested "the Thrashers might want to consider giving veteran defenseman Mathieu Schneider more power-play time to showcase his offensive abilities." Game summary: Kozlov (Schneider, Kovalchuk), 13:04 of 3rd; (holding), 1:32 of 1st.

Off-topic: strange but true

I just figured out how to find site statistics here at Blogger. And the top search query used when this site is clicked on in a list of results: "brad richards." Seriously. I throw some random stuff up about B-Rad this year, and he's a hit. Other top searches are "mathieu schneider rumors," and "mathieu schneider to dallas." Hmmm... Dallas. I wonder who else plays there.

My favorite tidbit of all time comes from the old site, when it was found by someone who used the search phrase "X rated movie theaters in New Jersey." My favorite from blogger so far? "jeopardy winner '1 28 09'" which brings up the Atlanta Thrashers at Dallas Stars post.

Random bits on a lazy Saturday

Mathieu may have done something of note yesterday. He may have broken New Jersey Devil Colin White's hand. On what was a simple shot to the net on the power play, Mathieu's shot hit White in the left hand. White missed today's game and is listed day to day. Hopefully it is just a bruise and not a break. That would be a bummer.

Also, Mathieu had some comments in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the recent streakiness of the Thrashers:

“Sometimes those things can get in a team’s head. You start thinking about it too much, and it certainly affects you. I’ve been on both sides of [streaks like this]. When you’re on the winning side you try to take advantage of it. When you’re on the losing side you try to use it as motivation. It shouldn’t be a hard game for us to get up for.”

February 6, 2009

Atlanta didn't come away with a win, but Mathieu came away with a point. And a penalty (on which New Jersey scored). He was even 19:35 of ice time. Game summary: Armstrong (Peverley, Schneider), 2:05 of 2nd; (boarding), 4:44 of 3rd.

Montreal

More talk about Mathieu to Montreal, this time adding Atlanta's young center Erik Christensen to the package, so reports the Bleacher Report.

Suitors

So, who are the main suitors for Mathieu, as the trade deadline looms only 30 days away? We've heard Buffalo, Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa. Now maybe Detroit?

George James Malik (one of my favorite Wings' voices*) doesn't think it makes sense. Neither do I. He's not what they need, and they didn't want him a few years ago anyway. Red Wings fans can vilify Schneider as the guy who "bolted for big money" all they want, but the reality is that the Wings fully intended to pursue Brian Rafalski who fit better with their future plans and is more likely to play nice with Mike Babcock.

*George is also one of the few outspoken Wings fans whom I actually respect. He's smart, fair, and balanced (even if he does have his slips into homerism now and then). He is the person who pops in my mind and gives me pause when I want to dismiss all Wings' fans as being totally pathological. He's one of the (very) few things I miss about Mathieu's time in Detroit. Yay "Homer."

February 3, 2009

On Adam Graves' jersey retirement night in New York, the Thrashers were able to pull off a win over the NY Rangers in the shootout tonight. Mathieu was third on the team in ice-time with 23:26 total minutes, yet was held shotless. Game summary: (cross-checking), 17:45 of 1st.

January 31, 2009

Well, not such a good game again. Mathieu was on the ice for both goals against in the 2-0 lose to Carolina. One of them was pretty ugly. And the Thrashers were outshot 21-4 in the 1st period. Ugliness.