HockeyVOX

Welcome back Habs Fans!

Well, the Habs played 2 games over the weekend and here some thoughts on both of those games!

Habs – Flyers on Saturday:

What can we say… The Habs came out flat once again and paid the price for it. Martin Biron always seems to be playing to another level when facing the Habs. He has been stinking up the joint this year, but against our beloved Canadiens, he was once again stellar in nets most notably stopping Robert Lang and getting some help from the post. The Flyers scored 2 beautiful goals, especially the first one by Scottie Upshall on a redirection of Mike Richards pass in front of the net. Alex Tanguay (who else) scored for the Bleu Blanc Rouge on a beautiful pass from Captain (a.k.a. Commandant) Saku Koivu, but it was too little, too late for Nos Habitants! As I had mentioned, the crowd was edgy and booed the Canadiens at many instances throughout the game, but what can you say… this is Montreal!!!! Jaroslav Halak played well and there was not much he could do on either of the goals. All in all, too many turnovers and when the Canadiens had chances, too many blocked shots from the Flyers. The only positive thing that came out of this game was the total annihilation by Georges Laraque on Gratton! I mean WOW, Big Georges landed punch after punch and taught him such a lesson that I had to rewind it on my PVR to watch that beating again. You would think that would have energized the Canadiens, but it did not do much as the Habs headed for their second straight loss.

Dimi “DX” (your Habs blogger),

The drive for 25!

Habs – Blues on Sunday:

Sunday was redemption night (or shall we say evening as the game was played earlier) for our Habs! Again, the Habs came out and were dominated in the 1st period by the Blues who took a predictable 1-0 lead when again it was the opposition’s 4th line that scored. Carey Price kept the Habs in the game until in the 2nd, Andrei Kostitsyn tied the game with a great individual effort going from end to end and getting an early Christmas present from Manny Legace who got beat five-hole. The Habs to their credit, played better in this game and also had 2 posts in this game (Brisebois and Markov) as well as A. Kostitsyn’s shootout post. At least they were competing in this game and managed to tie the game with about 4 minutes left when Robert Lang, from his knees scored a great goal! Sometimes, the obvious ones don’t go in and the tougher ones do, and that is exactly what happened! The referees were calling everything during the game and when I saw that Lee was the referee, I said uh oh!, here we go again. I don’t know if it is because we only see this guy when the Canadiens play, but he always seems to want to be the center of attention. I believe I saw the other referee twice. Six times a power play got cancelled due to other penalties, yet both officials of course missed the most obvious call, a blatant high stick on Andrei Kostitsyn. That would have most likely changed the game as it would have been a 4-minute penalty due to the blood from AK-46’s lip. A scary incident that reminded us all of the accident Trent Mcleary suffered a few years back when Francis Bouillon got a slap shot straight to his throat. Thank God, all is well with Bouillon and nothing serious occurred. In the shooutout, Price was stellar and of course, Alex Kovalev’s shootout winner was a thing of beauty going backhand upstairs. The Habs never quit and this is what we have learned with them over the past couple of years. A much needed win to lift their spirits and of course all of Montreal’s spirits! Now, another busy week with games in Carolina, Ottawa and back home for the Bruins. Revenge is on the horizon.

Dimi “DX” (your Habs blogger),

The drive for 25!