The Engels Angle: Canucks Steal Game 1 From Bruins

MONTREAL - The first game of the finals lacked such appeal that Don Cherry referred to it as the worst Stanley Cup game he has ever watched. For once, Cherry made a statement most would agree with.

The officials were intent on sending an early message-- that everything both teams had gotten away with throughout the previous rounds would not be tolerated in the first game.

As for remaining games in the series (there could be as many as six), you can take this prediction to the bank: the whistles will quickly be pocketed.

Refereeing aside, the game featured negligible flow and even less excitement. There was physicality and great goaltending, but the game lacked the kind of intensity you expect to see, given what's at stake; the kind of intensity that has marked one of the most exciting NHL playoff seasons we've ever witnessed.

Such a boring game would clearly play into Boston's hands. They may not have effectively disrupted Vancouver's flow all by themselves, but on the road, in the Stanley Cup Finals, not allowing the home team on the board for the first 59:41 of the game was as good as they could've asked for. The only problem is, the game is played at two ends of the rink and the Bruins had nothing to show for it after 60 minutes of play.

The 1-0 result on the only glaring error made in the third period of the hockey game, as Johnny Boychuk leapt at Ryan Kesler in the neutral zone despite the fact that there was no back-pressure from a teammate to support his decision, cost Tim Thomas a shutout, and it gave the Bruins a true indication of how tough this task will be.

The Canucks were patient enough to wait for that single opportunity, and though many are suggesting the Bruins can take the confidence of knowing they can play with Vancouver, they can't escape the reality that they lost a game that was theirs for the taking.

It would seem the Canucks have become accustomed to either overpowering their opponent with crushing speed and scoring, or managing to squeeze by in games they don't necessarily deserve. Regardless of how they've done it, they've done it more than any other team in these playoffs. They have three wins to accumulate before they earn the right to lift hockey's most coveted prize over their heads. And if the Bruins can't even beat them under the favourable circumstances they were able to generate last night, it seems hard to believe they'll be able to do it in a free-flowing hockey game.

On the Habs Front

With Hal Gill now in line, many are jumping to the conclusion that Josh Gorges is next on the list. Not to say Gorges won't have his day with the Canadiens, but it would seem to me they have more pressing matters at hand.

Pierre Gauthier needs to get Andrei Markov under contract and settle that business as soon as possible. I've made the assumption that Markov will either concede and take less years on a contract, or if he gets a three-year deal like he's pushing for, he'll have to concede on the money. One way or another, there's a concession to be made, and you can rest assured that Gauthier would prefer to have Markov on a one or two-year deal.

You never know for sure, but given that the Canadiens would like to retain Markov's services and that Markov would like to return to Montreal, a concession on his behalf will be necessary. The sooner the Canadiens settle with Markov, the sooner they'll know how much they have available to spend on restricted free agents like Gorges.

Once they deal with Markov, they've got a final decision to make on other unrestricted free agents like Wisniewski, Hamrlik, Sopel and Mara, and then they've got a draft to plan.

I've gone on record to say the Canadiens will almost surely let go of Wisniewski and Hamrlik, and it seems highly unlikely that Mara or Sopel will be brought back, but so long as the first two belong to the Canadiens until July 1st, surely they'll consider negotiating with either one of them. And if they don't intend to do that, they'll have to consider trading the rights to Wisniewski's contract.

With those priorities out of the way, it'll then be time to deal with Gorges. Given that this is his last contract as a restricted free agent, the Canadiens have all the incentive in the world to lock him up long-term. That means they'll have to offer him something near or at his market value, even if he is restricted. His market value is presumed to be somewhere between 2.5 and 3.5 million, depending on the length of his contract.

Gorges will get his long-term extension, and it'll be fair value for both sides. Perhaps because it's a relatively simple negotiation between both parties, it's a logical assumption that this deal will happen soon. But we said the same of Carey Price last season, and his deal came down on September 2nd.