So when the Habs took to the ice tonight against the Leafs, no one really knew what to expect. It will most likely be that way for the next few weeks until we familiarize ourselves with our new team and their style of play.
We got the win.
Around Montreal, people were honking their horns, cheering in bars, finally letting themselves loose after months of painful anticipation. GEORGES!!!! METROPOLIT!!!! getting that OT win against the hated LEAFS!!! start the parade...
Aslin had the best caricature of our fans... "october premature ejaculation".
Ladies and Gentlemen... tonight got us two points... but did we deserve that win???? take a look at the shots... 42 vs. 23... 16-6 in the 2nd period alone. First period wasn't any better. Not only did we have difficulty controlling the puck in their end, it seemed almost painful for us to get it out of our own!!! Last year was no different. Outlet passes were imprecise, transitions through the neutral zone seemed to be forced... Giving up bad penalties is a habs tradition, but our PK has GOT to get better. we seem to implode and basically all scour in front of the net.
Speaking of defense... I know martin is known to be more focused on defensive play, but if we have our D standing motionless at the blue line while the Leafs blow by at full speed, it's not surprising to see guys like Gill getting passed like rookies.
All that being said, there are a LOT of positives to take out of the game as well. First off, Price seems to have finally taken enough time to properly heal his injuries... both mental and physical. He never really got along with Melançon, and frankly I believe he will become a better goalie this year under new direction. Extremely quick on his feet, and standing up longer, he seemed more assertive in front of the net. I hope he will be a force to be reckoned with this year.
Second, it's nice to catch a glimpse of the depth our team holds... New faces, sure. But while everyone was talking about Gomez, Cammalleri, and Gionta (ok the latter still got a goal tonight), it was guys like Metropolit, Georges, and Moen who got goals tonight. Laraque got an assist.
Folks, if you want to look at the potential your team truly holds, you have to be willing to look behind the scenes too. It's not all about who scored the tying goal, who got the game winner... it's about how you GOT there. who set those guys up, who fought along the boards, who made the space. Guys that don't make the highlight reel often don't get enough credit.
The same thing goes for wins and losses. We didn't deserve the win tonight. Sure, we showed up in the 3rd to play, and OT was great. But we got our asses chewed for the first two periods... against the LEAFS. That sort of play won't get us coming into the third with the lead against cup-contending teams. It'll get us showing up a couple goals back. Price was brilliant, we fought back... but it's not something to honk our horns about. It should be a wakeup call more than anything else. Playing this way will only get the Habs so far. Then it'll be 2008-2009 all over again.
Last but definitely not the least... let's PRAY that Markov's injury isn't serious... we don't need another achilles tear... that would be heart-breaking.
...and we all know the habs are in post-op right now.
TAKE THE WIN... but TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.
Sabres Saturday night... this should definitely be an interesting game. We'll see how Spacek performs against his former team.
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