MONTREAL – While the Canadiens took on the Bruins in Boston on Saturday night, I was at the Bell Center with my wife and 15,000 other nostalgic people to give the group Kiss one last kiss.
How do you say? It was perfect!
NO! The voices are no better than before and the musicians flooding the subway corridors with notes are mostly virtuosos compared to the natural talent of the group’s four members.
But it was still perfect.
From the moment they walked on stage with their big boots on to the moment they left it one last time – the final farewell tour will eventually come to an end and their 14th stop in Montreal may be their last – Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and those who replaced Ace Frehley and Peter Criss – my apologies to Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer – gave their all to take over the stage.
You never lost it after that.
The orgy of noise, flames, explosions and other special effects was completely effective.
To the great delight of her gray-haired fans and the youngest who came with dad, mom, grandpa or grandmother, many of whom were made up for the occasion.
And tonight Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley will still be in full effect in Quebec. Completely successful, even if they will offer a second “concert” on two evenings despite their well-known 74 and 71 years.
And the best part is that the Legault government didn’t even have to offer them a few million dollars to take a tour of the capital… even if the members of Kiss, rich as they are, are poor people in comparison to the owners of the Los Angeles Kings.
But OK…
Another false start
Why refer to “Kiss” so often instead of analyzing the game the Canadian played in Boston yesterday?
Because I was just re-watching this game, which I carefully recorded, and the first comment that came to mind – and which I then repeated many times during this encounter – was that the Canadian had forgotten a game yesterday to play in Boston.
It was sad to see.
On Thursday, against the Golden Knights from Las Vegas, the Canadian was able to console himself with the final score – or at least try to.
Not Saturday!
Even if the final score of 5:2 does not illustrate the dominance of the Bruins, who more than doubled the Canadians in shots on goal (44:22) and in shots made (79:37).
There is no question of forgetting or even brushing aside the fact that the Canadian’s last two opponents are at the top of the standings.
Plus, we don’t need these rankings to know that the Bruins and Knights are better than the Canadiens.
But the fact that they are doesn’t change the fact that the Canadian himself fought a lot more when he was beaten by his opponents, good as they were.
The Canadian was also guilty of a false start on Saturday. Instead of starting the game with strength, he offered his opponent full control of the game. Like the Knights on Thursday, the Bruins were alone on the ice in the first period. They were the ones who dictated the game.
And if a combination of miracles from Samuel Montembault and opportunism at the other end of the ice had allowed the Canadian to take a 2-0 lead on Thursday, the Habs got what they deserved on Saturday.
For the twelfth time in 18 games, he conceded the first goal. He was 0-2 and then 0-3 behind.
And when a beautiful goal from Juraj Slafkovsky gave a little hope and a massive attack that followed could have blown away the Habs, Trent Frederic’s second goal, straight from the box, caused the wind to turn right in Martin St.’s face. Louis and his club.
It was ready!
Good! They’ll say it’s been over for a while. Especially since the statistics prove you right.
The Canadian has now lost nine of the twelve games in which he has allowed the first goal. Eight times in regular time. And his three victories went beyond the regular 60 minutes: twice in overtime, once in a shootout.
He lost four of the five games in which he fell behind 0-2.
And since the Canadian has not yet won games decided by three goals this season (0:5), we can say that the outcome of the game was clearly and clearly determined from the beginning of the middle phase.
The Canadian was demoted to hockey by the Bruins on Saturday. He suffered his fourth consecutive defeat, his sixth in his last eight games.
It starts to hurt.
It was also downgraded in terms of intensity and efficiency by Gene Simmons and the other “little old boys” of Kiss.
Which hurts even more.
And all this in front of their fathers, who might have expected the sons to at least fight a little on the ice instead of crashing into each other without the slightest resistance.
Which has to hurt more than losing to the Bruins and losing face in front of the painted faces of the Kiss band members.
Already a crucial journey
The Canadian was not only guilty of a false start in the game between him and the Bruins.
He also had a poor start to the five-game trip he will continue over the next 10 days to Anaheim, San Jose, Los Angeles and Columbus.
It is essential for Martin St-Louis to take advantage of the return to Montreal and training on Monday before flying to the western United States.
Because it is a crucial journey that the Canadian will continue.
While the Bruins presented a formidable challenge – the Canadian had stood up to them at the Bell Center a week earlier – the Habs’ next four opponents are less threatening.
I know kings are powerful.
But it’s not the sharks at all. The Ducks and Blue Jackets are no more so than the Canadiens.
There can be no talk of victories against these three clubs here. But whether in Anaheim, San Jose, Columbus or even Los Angeles, fans have the right to push their young favorites to do their best on the ice. That they play ice hockey with the risk of mistakes and the associated consequences.
If the Canadian prolongs his series of setbacks by prolonging his poor or even very poor performances on the ice, he will undermine the patience of his fans, who are ready to accept the effects of development but have no reason to accept the effects of one lack of conviction on the ice.
Martin St-Louis has been juggling his lines in recent games and that’s normal. He did it to try to shake up an offense that clearly needs shaking up. In this way, he completed trios that worked well to help others who were stuck.
Yes, I’m thinking of Josh Anderson here. I’m also thinking of Juraj Slafkovsky, who beyond his goal on Saturday gives the impression that he needs help, as he himself is sinking instead of managing to get out of it.
At this point, it might be time to take more direct action against the culprits rather than punishing the rest of the group.
And maybe play a video of the Kiss-offered show Saturday night at the Bell Center in the locker room before games. At times the example of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley had a greater impact than the fatherly support and good words of Martin St-Louis in the last two games.
In the meantime: Go Als Go! And have fun at the Gray Cup!