OT 00:59:
What a set-up by Tanguay! This guy is a great passer.
OT 00:09:
Lang, Kovalev ... what a show!
OT 00:00:
What a flurry! Man, this is going to be a fun season.
3P 8:25:
Pleks line nearly victimized.
3P 7:49:
The new faster Gui! scoots behind the Buffalo D and sets up O'Byrne for a slapper. I think Gui! is going to have a big season.
3P 7:00:
Miller played Kovalev perfectly. Pierre Houde says the ice is getting bad in this period. Hot day in Buffalo.
3P Break:
Shots are 32-22. Has Carbo benched Bégin? Nope, there he is
The good news is ...:
... the beer store is open till 11.
OT 4:00:
Canadiens looking confused
3P 00:00:
Man, Sergei had the game onhis stick!
3P 15:40:
Gorges saves Breeze's ass
3P 16:40:
Lang line by far the best of the Habs
3P 17:30:
Canadiens HORRIBLE in their own end.
3P 19:00:
I don't get shoot-ins on the PP
Michel Bergeron:
Second-guessing Carbo. Fun .... but which coach is talking to a room full of NHL players and who's talking to Alain Crête?
3P 00:00:
This should be good. Not a classic so far, but the goaltending has been sharp and there are flashes of what the Canadiens attack will be once they know each other's names.
3P 11:50:
lang's even good on the PK
3P 12:40:
Price, sprawling, robs Vanek.
3P 13:30:
Graham Rynbend is still fixing Sergei's face.
Stats:
Markov has played 16:21, Roman Hamrlik has blocked four shots, Faceoffs are 19-19, blocked shots 9-9, Canadiens have 14 muffed and wide shots ... Theodore yanked after 10 shots, three goals
2P 7:00:
Love the Langer!
2P 6:09:
Bad change and Paillé, who's been good tonight, gets a shot on Price.
2P Break:
Three good shifts in a row. The Pleks line is coming alive. Kovalev handled the puck too much – what's new? – through the first 30 minutes.
2P 3:56:
Momentum is all Habs. One good shift after another. But a goal would be nice.
2P :
Great three-way passing among Markov, tanguay, Koivu
2P 3:00:
Price very sharp after not having much work. Not a good defensive shift for the Pleks line.
2P 10:08:
Briiliant set-up, Pleks to Hamrlik. Nearly a goal.
2P 11:00:
You see flashes of why Tanguay must have driven Keenan nuts.
2P 11:35:
Not much work for the fourth line tonight.
2P 13:00:
O'Byrne saves Gorges' ass.
2P Break:
Nice passing on the PP. Price robed Paillé shorthanded. Hey, AK46 is dressed tonight: he just broke his stick.
2P 15:50:
There's a switch: the Captain gets hooked.
2P 17:30:
Lang's passing is wasted on Kostopoulos. Not a great night for Roman Hamrlik.
2P 00:00:
Lang hits the post on the PP. He's the best of the Canadiens tonight. Benoit Brunet points out that we're seeing early-season sloppiness.
3P 14:40:
Both Kostitsyns get their bells rung. And Bégin takes a very ill-timed four-minutes worth of penalties. Unless Price is great, this is the game here.
2P 1:02:
Fourth line hustles the Sabres into a penalty.
2P 00:00:
Canadiens have to start coping with the Buffalo forecheck ... Mark Streit has a goal and an assist ... José Theodore beaten three times by Atlanta in the first period (including one by Ron Hainsey) ... Joel Bouchard is very animated in the RDS studio. He's going to be good.
3P 4:40:
Max Lapierre doing exactly what's going to keep him in the NHL
Guest analyst:
Sidhu:
Second period thoughts:
- Lang looks great, he's got long reach, skates well, and has had some good scoring chances
- Lang and SK74 displayed some amazing chemistry
- On the other hand, the Koivu-Tanguay duo doesn't look so hot
- OB came to play, he has had some turnovers and a penalty, but he's in the game
- His partner, Hammer, is a rock. The guy competes every night.
- Dandy's lack of play in the first was prob due to the heavy special
teams use in the first. Carbo def rolled him in the four lines in the
second.
2P Break:
MacArthur went around Markov too easily. I haven't liked the D tonight.
3P 2:40:
Lang blocks a shot on the PK. I LOVE THIS GUY!
3P Break:
Great PK, but tense moments. And then another great shift by the Lang line.
3P 4:00:
Kovy great on the PK, also Pleks and Markov
1P 9:25:
Way to sell it, Pleks!
1P 8:30:
I don't love Tanguay as much. Terrible penalty.
1P 7:50:
Breeze is still a useful PP weapon.
1P 6:20:
Hamrlik knocked Vanek into Price. Shots are 10-4 Buffalo.
1P 5:40:
Ryan O'Byrne: The unOrr.
1P 4:00:
Some nice shifts for Gui!
Third break:
O'Byrne shows you flashes. Great skater for a guy that size.
1P 2:00:
RDS screwed up a break.
First commercial break:
Looking REALLY good so far. All lines rolling. D clearing zone crisply.
1P 12:20:
Horrible mistake by Komisarek lets Tomas Vanek skip in alone on Price
1-1
1P 1:20:
Has Mathieu Dandenault touched the puck in this game?
1P 11:10:
Man, the number 1 defence pair did not look good on that goal.
3P 4:40:
Very weak call on Gui! ... considering a 1-1 game, late
3P 00:48:
Good timeout by Carbo. Pleks line was tired, faceoff in their own end.
Second break:
Dumb play by Derek Roy: high-stick in the o-zone while on the PP. Good game so far. Lots of skating by two fast, skilled teams. But I hated that Buffalo goal.
The "second national anthem":
Newly-recorded by the Toronto Symphony ... and sounding good. Love the bongos.
Nice threads!:
Benoit Brunet. Very GQ
I love Carbo:
Two feet on the ground
Michael Ryder:
scoring a Michael Ryder goal against Colorado. Boston will be tough. Thatig Wheeler kid made the club.
J'ai hâte ...:
... que ça commence. But there will probably a whole load of pre-game crap. But no Sarah Palin
1P 18:00:
Pleks line in constant movement in the o-zone. Dazzling.
AK46:
scoring some beauties in the RDS highlight reel
La Ligue en question:
Jacques Demers, Dave Morissette and Bert Raymond, with Yanick Bouchard as moderator ... Big factor mentioned by Morissette: all the teams will be laying for the Canadiens ... Raymond sees Captain K slowing down this season ... Big Imponderable: Injuries ... Demers sees the Rangers and Washington better ... Interesting factor mentioned by Raymond: 10 guys without contractsfor next season, all watching their ice time. Allocating it will be a challenge for Carbo ... Three-year contract is important for Carbo. Lame-duck coaches have trouble with their players ... Key for Gui! Movement. If he stands still, says Demers, he's useless. Morissette thinks Lang and SK74 will be good linemates for him (I agree) ... Key for Higgins: going to the net. Demers says very few players can score from anywhere, Higgins isn't one of them ...
1P 19:20:
I love Tanguay on that line already
Kovy for St. Hubert BBQ:
"Mr. Gainey told me Montreal has a special flavour. It was first time I saw him smile."
On RDS:
Pierre Boivin talking about the kind of fast, talented team that appeals to Quebecers.
M.I.A.:
Chantal, phone home.
Predictions:
Demers and Raymond: First; Morissette: Third, behind Philadelphia and Washington; Bouchard: Second, behind Rangers ... but he picks Canadiens to win the Cup. The other three like Detroit.
Lindy Ruff:
A damn good coach
Buffalo player intros:
To the Stones" Street Fighting Man? And we complain about U2. It's still 1969 in Buffalo.
New studio duo:
Joel Bouchard really knows hockey. He'll be great with Demers. He loves Carey Price.
1P :
The thinner Price looks very quick. SK74 on the PK.
1P 15:40:
Brilliant. Breeze gets flattened by {aillé and goes for retaliation. Keep your head up!
1P 17:02:
ROBERT LANG!!!
1-0
Love this guy since training camp. Very smart heady player. Knows what to do with the biscuit and will make sweet music with SK74
1P 00:00:
Sabres on target for 45 shots. Not good.
Between periods:
François Gagnon makes his debut. Fire the lighting director.
Buffalo lineup:
Jason Pominville-Jochen Hecht-Daniel Paillé, Derek Roy-Tomas Vanek-Drew Stafford, Tim Connolly-Ales Kotalik-Maxim Afinogenov, Andrew Peters-Adam Mair-Patrick Kaleta
Tony Lydman-Teppo Numminen, Henrik Tallinder-Craig Rivet, Jaroslav Spacek-Nathan Paetsch or Andrej Sekera
Ryan Miller in nets
Summit raffle:
Check it out. Proceeds to the Gainey Foundation.
Yvon Pedneault's five keys:
Busted with them at the airport. OK, bad dope joke this early in the season. The Canadiens' keys, per Monsieur P.:
1. Carey Price
2. Alex Kovalev
3. Andrei Markov (Pedneault doesn't like his move to shooting guard ... and neither do I)
4. The penalty kill
5. Carbo
Share the agony and ecstasy of Habs fandom and read live blogs from every game with Gazette columnist Mike Boone.
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1 point on the road against a team that will clearly play better this year than it did last year. Not bad ... unless we lose against the young "wolves" of Toronto ... and again against the tough Flyers on Monday. That would stop me from sleeping!
Imo, 2 gaffes on the scoring play by Vanek cost the game. Komi losing the puck and Markov failing to simply take Vanek out with a hit. The passing option was blocked out by Lats, who backchecked well on the play.
Mind you, I'm not complaining. Price was solid and the Habs lines got rolling a few times, cycling well and passing the puck with accuracy. One note on Begin: he's got to lay off the Sudafed- 2 brain dead penalties during the same play midway through the 3rd. By far, the most effective lines were Lang's and Lapierre's. That is NOT a good sign, but it is just one game. Bring on those Stanley Cup Champion Destroyers know as the laffs!
Gilbert
2008/09 is the season of the Habs
I thought defensively we played a good game, but the transition to offence was not very crisp.
Possession broke down very quickly in the offensive end. Our 4th line kept the puck deep at times with their aggressive for check, but had no finish.
Last year, we lived on the power play but it was not there in Buffalo.
All in all, we played a decent defensive road game and we were only worth 1 point.
I think the offence will have a little more jump to-night in Toronto.
Once all the kids get a little more seasoning in the first half of this year, we will be on top in January.
I agree Ian, I think tonight they'll fix a lot of what wasn't there last night. I was at the game yesterday and our boys seemed out of sync, out of touch, and in the case of Brisebois, 'out to lunch'. He really makes me nervous when he's on the ice, he seems more suited for the ice capades than hockey now but that's just me. Lang's line was by far the best, what jump and hustle. Latendresse also worries me, I'm not sure if he could even crack the Bulldog lineup theses days with the way he's playing...he's definitely out of his league. I'm sure I'll get bashed for that from all the sympathizers but how many chances does a guy need??? He's proven it time and again yet then he scores a fluky goal and all is forgotten. Brisebois and Lats will not help us win a cup, I think Bob knows that, not sure if Guy Carbs does. Anyway let's see how the next few games unfold and then we'll see if I'm just talking out of my back side.
Well, tonight wasn't all bad. At least Price played well (his shootout invulnerability's disappearing act notwithstanding)—the Habs' last two #1 goalies had less than stellar games...
Id rather have the Habs get their bad game out of the way against Buffalo instead of Toronto.
Sorry, testing my login problem. Please ignore.
Hey, so we didn't get two points. Let's not get all "mavericky" about it!
Random Thoughts on tonight's game from the Canadiens Blog on the Hockey News website.
Habs Suffer From the Opening Night Jitters in Buffalo
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/18540-Canadiens-Blog-Habs-suffer-f...
T.C.
tc.denault@habsworld.net
I blame Brisebois and Sarah Palin. Let's remember, it's one game and on the road no less. And hey, Toronto beat everyone's Cup favourite, so go figure. Buffalo is a solid team. It's better now than in April. We'll do fine. Still, I hate losing and I feel like hitting something; hard. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.
~Goose~
Damn it I still feel like punching something.
I thought Brisbois played his game like the rest of the D, just steady.
Hammer and Markov stood out somewhat.
I agree. I can't and don't fault him. I was just making a lame joke about the typical anti-Brisebois attidute here. I'm angry and drunk so that may impact my posts tonight. All in all, a point is a point, and like I said, let's do it now instead of April. GO HABS GO!!!!!
~Goose~
I can't wait to see Montreal in January!!!!!
Stereotypical Habs fan moment:
We suck.
Most Noticeable & Most Impressive-Robert Lang
Weakest Forward-Alex Tanguay(although its first game of the season so lets not jump all over him just yet)
Weakest Defensemen-Breezer (Komisarek had a a bit more than couple moments)
Strongest Defensemen-Hamrlik & Markov(Gorges & Obyrne Were Next)
Best Line-Lang, Skoz, Kosto
Price was Awesome tonight But if MIller keeps this play up, BUffalo will surprise(although i had them pegged as 7th place)
Now that was fun except for some nauseating moments, Im goin out to a bar! See ya folks tomorrow!
"We get nose jobs all the time in the NHL, and we don't even have to go to the hospital."
~Brad Park.
Tanguay needs a trigger guy to go to.He is a good play maker.Now if Carbo can ajust his play with someone.Looks good.Now who can Tanguay be a good fit with?
first of all, if anyone says anything negative about Koivu this year, i'm going to personally level you. all the tough guys we got that can stand in front of the net, and in the dieing seconds our captain gives and takes the punishment, with Lang, Kovy and Markov circling like snipers.
Brilliant game by: LANG-KOVY-KOIVU-HAMMR-GORGES-OBRYN-KOMI-MARKov & PRICEY
as for Carb, thats enough of the circus games...immediately remove BEGIN, DANDY, BREEZE.
Koivu needs a piece of plywood in order to touch the puck...
AGreeeeeed
We played for one point,and we earned one point.
It will take a little time to develop the chemistry. But when it happens, watch out!!
Jacques Demers on RDS says hats off to the fourth line tonight...
On another note, Hamilton is beating Manitoba 2-1 so far.. 2nd goal to Glumac from Desharnais.
price, lang, koivu, and markov i thought had a good game. begin should sit after those stupid penalties, which he has a history of. breezer is good from the blue line in, wish he could tag someone at the red line and that guy plays our end.
Boone: Kill a freakin' chicken and walk around your home backwards three times before you hit the rack tonight. Damn, you opened the door for this tonight with your negativity!
Yeah, but the Depression is your fault, you @#$%ing Republican!
Yep, its all my fault. I'm walking around my neighborhood aimlessly doing elephant impressions after tonight's game. I have my pant pockets turned out, my fly down and dare I say, my trunk out!
Hey watch it you panzy liberal!!! :-)
PanSy liberal, you illiterate fascist ;-)
OK I'm sorry, "pansy" communist!!!
Better!!! :-)
Don't even try to tell me Sarah Palin isn't hot Mr. Boone. I see right through you, and in the words of Mr. Cohen, "everybody knows..."
~Goose~
Yea, but she's dumber than a sack of hammers. No matter how good she looks, you never want to be tagged as the guy who porked the stupid chick!
Why??
Last time I checked, guy's are more attracted to beauty, not intelligence.
Kinda like woman are more attracted to money, not beauty. :-)
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