Game #58Montreal Comes Back, Manages To Get A Valuable Point

Details

Date: 15/02/2012
Opponent: Bruins
Location: Montreal

Loss: 3-4

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

Habs goalscorers: Darche, Pacioretty, Cole
Opposition goalscorers: Ference, Pouliot, Bergeron, (Seguin - SO)

Play of the game

The Bruins had never lost when trailing after two, and we know what we can be like in third periods. So, it was extra special when Cole capitalized on a Chara mistake to walk in alone on Thomas. He made a nice move in close and put one upstairs on the Tea-Partyer. Embarrassing Chara, after Plekanec smacked him in the face with the puck, was certainly a highlight for me.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Erik Cole - Game Puck
Cole refused to give up, that much you could see on his face. Even though we were down to one of the best team's in the league, by two goals, he still played his heart out. He was in on Max's goal and then scored the tying goal on a very nice play. On a night like tonight, when he is that fired-up it was a mistake not to use him in the shoot-out.

Mathieu Darche
Where has this play come from? A month ago I felt that Mat was playing in his final few NHL games and now he is a resident in the dome. Like others, it could be argued that he is playing for himself, for his NHL-survival, but I don't buy that. Here is a proud Montrealer who seems to be willing to do whatever it takes for his home team to succeed. His goal was fantastic and just gives more reason as to why he should be playing as much as he does.

Max Pacioretty
Max, Max, Max, you have to lift the puck in the shoot-out. This is Tim Thomas here, no goal is a given. He had the keeper beat, but didn't bury it like he should have (I hope he looks at the way Cole finished his backhand goal tonight). Aside from the disappointment in the shoot-out Max was good. He scored his 24th and continues to be one of the main reasons that the Habs are sticking around in this race.

Defencemen

Alexei Emelin
This guy is afraid of no one. Guys like Thornton and Marchand make a living acting like idiots and scaring other NHL'ers. Alex, however, can see through these tools and beats them the only way he knows how - with solid, clean hits. With him on our side I think that Boston now has something to worry about and hopefully pre-occupy themselves with. Teams like that don't like to be shown-up in any aspect of the game, so let's hope that Emelin can continue to act as a distraction in future contests.

PK Subban
PK was another player that got under the Bruins' skin. He played a strong game in both ends and was definitely a force going forward. His play and pass on Darche's short-handed marker was superb. With Emelin, these two are forming the base of our Bruin tormenting for years to come.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Carey was fantastic towards the end of the third and in OT. He was OK the rest of the way and was his usual, sieve-like self in the shoot-out. Without him we don't get the point, but I feel that a little work on breakaways would lead to a few more wins rather than OT losses. Other players have figured out how to beat Price, can't our coaches and he himself work that out too and do what it takes to address it?

Comments

We needed a bounce-back game after the Hurricane loss and I felt that a visit from the hated Bruins would suit us. We played a strong game throughout, I thought, but got into trouble with a few careless mistakes. Their first goal was Gill at his worst and their second exposed the AHL talent hidden inside Campoli. Their third goal was a PP-marker scored after Cole, with the puck, ran into Thomas. Calls like that add up and eventually even the best PK will get scored upon. So, it is simple to say that it would have been 3-0 for us without two bad plays and a bad call. But, the reality is that players like Gill and Campoli play every night and they make many more mistakes than two per game. Mistakes will happen and, so will goals. That is why offence and goaltending are the keys to our wins. When Price is on and we score 2+ we are a great team, but when it all doesn't line up we get 2011-2012.

We knew at the All-Star break that we would lose games, we probably even thought that this one against Boston would be a loss, so by no means is anything over yet. A win against the 'Canes would have been nice, but in the end it is still 9 of a possible 12 points in our last 6 games. We have 24 games left and teams like Toronto, Florida and Ottawa that are generally better at being bad than good, also have a lot of games to go. The slope got a little steeper this week, but it is still surmountable. How about two wins this weekend though, just to make things a little easier.