“Can we start again?” Nope! No retakes allowed in running a country nor the false start to your 100th anniversary season.

Light the fuse! Tonight was the Montreal Canadiens official launch of the year long party to celebrate “the teams glorious achievements over the last century”.

Wow…that’s weighty stuff. Perhaps too much of a burden tonight though as the effort was more fizzle than pop. No big deal, says the coach. (Seems that the Canadiens marketing staff forgot to send him the anniversary talking points). “We lost in a shootout and I can’t say I’m unhappy about the game” said Carbonneau.

Perhaps the only coach in bizarro world of Red Fisher, could be a little peeved about a few things: poor defensive zone coverage, lack of offensive finish (especially on the power-play) and undisciplined play. Steve Begin and Patrice Brisebois deserve mention as both took dumb penalties. In addition, Brisebois simply couldn’t compete against the Sabres and was beaten on every shift by either their speed or physicality.

On the positive side, Carey Price was the Canadiens best player. Price played brilliantly while duelling a very sharp Ryan Miller. The best Canadiens forward was Sergei Kostitsyn who looked terrific with his Jekyll & Hyde linemate Robert Lang. It was Lang-the-good who showed up tonight scoring the Habs only goal. (Could Max Pacioretty may be the perfect compliment to these two and could make this line a real force for the Canadiens?) Incidentally Sergei K led his team in hits tonight.

An unfortunate bobble for Mike Komisarek led to Buffalo’s only regulation time goal. A misstep or two for Ryan O’Byrne was dwarfed by his effort on every shift. O’Byrne was a physical presence and added some outstanding defensive play. Nice to see Hamrlik and Markov on the ice after missing most of the pre-season.

Bring on the Leafs!

Pre-game:

Congrats to Craig Rivet who is a deserving captain of the Sabres.

Bouillon & Higgins out with injuries. Chipchura is a healthy scratch.

Rocket’s 3 stars:

1. Carey Price
2. Ryan Miller

3. Thomas Vanek