Game #42Boston Looking Like Canada in Saturday Night Thriller

Details

Date: 8/1/2011
Opponent: Bruins
Location: Montreal

Win: 3-2 (OT)

Habs Goalie: Price (W)
Opposition Goalie: Thomas (L)

Habs goalscorers: Gomez, Gionta, Pacioretty
Opposition goalscorers: Bergeron (2)

Play of the game

If this game had ended after 40 minutes then I would have been in trouble in this section. As it turns out, however, the Habs gave me plenty of options with their play in the last 23+ minutes. It just kept getting better and, so, the play of the game kept changing. In the end it has to be the the OT goal. A great pass by Subban, a little fly-by by Desharnais and a perfect shot from MaxPac sent the crowd, and the national TV audience, into a frenzy.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Benoit Pouliot
Pouliot was our best player throughout the first two periods. He was involved in a lot of our good scoring chances and looked like the same player that shone on Thursday night. His play didn't stand out as much in the third when the others got going, but I felt that he still needed some recognition.

Max Pacioretty - Game Puck
At the time I didn't think that Max was our best player, but after the OT goal I looked back at the rest of the game and decided that he had played pretty well. After all, he led the team in shots, was the fastest player on either team and picked up an assist on the tying goal. The winner, however, sealed it as it was our first legit goal of the game and our first game-winner when trailing after two periods this season.

Brian Gionta
There wasn't much going on for Brian in the first two periods, but he did turn it on in the third. He scored the tying goal by going hard to the net and disturbing a goalie that shouldn't even be letting in two goals a game. He led the forwards in ice-time and took 5 shots; tonight he was our leader.

Defencemen

PK Subban
I really liked PK's game tonight. It was all of the stuff we want and none of the stuff that we don't. He did very well on both the PP and PK (leading the team in special-teams ice-time) and led the team in overall ice-time. He was on the ice for all three of our goals and none of theirs, he rushed the puck well, passed well and was tough when he needed to be. It wasn't his best game for us, but was close for sure.

James Wisniewski
This wasn't a fantastic game for James in his own end, but I felt that since no one else stepped up the door was still open for him. And, thankfully, he walked on through. He was very good on the PP and his assist was the main reason that we tied the game. He made a great fake at the line before putting a great puck on the net. We got the bounce, that's for sure, but it was all thanks to his patience and creativity that the puck was there to be bounced in the first place.

Goaltender

Carey Price
We all want Carey to get some rest, but instead of a night off how does 20 minutes sound? Well, not ideal, but it is a step in the right direction. That rest, of course, came in the third period when his teammates took the puck to the other end for good. The Bruins had their moments, but even 8 shots seems high. Towards the end of the game I had a moment where I had to question in my head who was in goal as I couldn't recall the last time I had had a chance to see. At that point I knew that we were playing well. So, based on the first 40 minutes he played well. He kept the game close and made the saves that he had to make. Even though he didn't really factor into the comeback he was still a big reason why we won this game.

Comments

I was getting ready to right about a loss, I really was, and I was having trouble getting excited about it. Thankfully the Habs seemed as disinterested in that outcome as I did. What they did over those last 23 minutes was really amazing. The comeback, for the first time, was huge, but let's look at a little deeper. First off Boston is a good team and a team that wants us to lose as much as they want to win. They have the best goalie in the league and Pierre Houde's boyfriend had scored both goals - life couldn't be any better. They also have the comfort of knowing that we can't comeback. Well, it seems that they haven't watched our last 3 games (forced OT in all 3 after having conceded the first goal) or the Gold Medal game. So, this was improbable to say the least. But, we didn't just comeback, we dominated. We scored 3 goals (and a 4th that was very close to counting), drew penalties, with relative ease, and dominated play in a way that I haven't seen in two months. The goals to tie it up weren't pretty, but when you are that good don't you get the feeling that you deserve some bounces?

The downer has to be the potential loss of Cammalleri, though. Games like this, and other wins, will happen much less frequently if we take out one of our top forwards. Let's, however, enjoy this win and enjoying being back (in a tie) for the division. There are 40 games to go and I know we'll be in it right until the end. I would be as surprised if by the last 5 games we have been eliminated as I would if we have clinched. All I can say is: get ready for the ride.