Montreal 1 Buffalo 2 OT (HSBC Arena)

by Rick Stephens, AllHabs.net

MONTREAL, QC.– Where were you on March 24, 2010? The Montreal Canadiens were at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo facing the Sabres.

The Habs got off to an early lead scoring only 41 seconds into the game. Before the five minute mark of the first period, the Canadiens had a 2-0 lead courtesy of the power-play. Both goals were scored by Andrei Kostitsyn.

Why is this relevant? Bear with me for a minute.

The Sabres were assessed the game’s first four minor penalties. Then Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff went to work on the officials chiding them at every chance. From this point on, the Canadiens would not have another power-play and were given six consecutive minor penalties.

Buffalo scored two goals in the final two minutes of the game to tie it and won in the shootout.

Fast forward to Tuesday night’s game where Buffalo received four minor penalties in the first 20 minutes. Ruff complained bitterly to the officials. The Canadiens power-play unit didn’t get another opportunity after the first period.

First, let’s credit Ruff. He is an excellent coach, and knows when and how to lean on the officiating crew. When a call goes against his team the Canadiens coach simply shrugs, takes a note, and repeats his favorite two-word phrase.

But now let’s shine a light on the officials, something we rarely do. Mistakes are made in every game, and conventional wisdom says it will all even out in the end. And then there are games like tonight.

In the words of former Canadiens player Chris Nilan, “The refereeing was putrid. That’s what it was.”

Inconsistency is the worst possible label a referee can wear. If there was any justice, the court of the NHL would sentence Greg Kimmerly and Mike Leggo to wearing a sandwich board outside the Bell Centre containing two words: “inconsistent” and “incompetent.” Or simpler, not work again in the NHL.

The game was called with an iron fist early on. The penalties to Hall Gill and Yannick Weber for slashing were some of the worst calls of the year. In the third period, Kimmerly and Leggo put away their whistles to the point where were witnessed muggings. Tyler Myers hammered away at the back of Lars Eller repeatedly knocking him to the ice (with Eller courageously maintaining possession of the puck) yet went unpenalized.

In the last minute of the game with players being tackled all over the ice, Kimmerly decided to call Scott Gomez for hi-sticking. In fact Gomez’s stick didn’t touch Nathan Gerbe, although his glove cuffed the diminutive Sabres forward in retaliation for a stiff slash.

Buffalo scored the game-winner on the resulting 4-on-3 power-play in overtime.

For his part, Gomez was taking full responsibility saying, “I’ll take 100 percent blame on this one.”

Many Habs fans were ready to crucify Gomez for costing the Canadiens a chance at two points. I’m not willing to go that far. With the penalty threshold being a constantly-changing target, how are players supposed to know what is permitted in intense heat-of-the-moment action?

Keep in mind that with all the injuries, Gomez time-on-ice topped all forwards (on both teams) at 22:55.

Three key Montreal players, Mike Cammalleri, Max Pacioretty and Jeff Halpern combined for a total of five minutes of ice-time. Pacioretty was taken to hospital after receiving a James Wisniewski slapshot in the chest. Reports indicate that Cammalleri will be out a minimum of two weeks with a separated shoulder, and Halpern suffered a shoulder injury after two upper body hits by Patrick Kaleta.

Battling the Sabres, seemingly assisted by the officials, with a depleted line-up, in Carey Price’s words, “It felt like we were battling uphill all game.” Price added, “It almost feels like a win, getting one point.”

Generally, I don’t believe in losses being artificially disguised as moral victories. But there was something special about the character displayed by the Habs after losing three forwards to injury all in the first period. Having said that, Price can be credited with delivering the single point.

All attention will now turn to Canadiens General Manager Pierre Gauthier. Some will want him to swing a big trade although that would be ill-advised at the present time. The Habs cannot sacrifice their future giving up young talent and draft picks to fill a hole that is only vacant temporarily.

The players currently on the roster will get a chance to play larger roles which means more ice-time and special teams minutes for Eller, Andrei Kostitsyn, and Benoit Pouliot.

The Canadiens will need scoring help and Hamilton can provide several players who can fill that role right now. The two most likely candidates are Ben Maxwell and J.T. Wyman. Maxwell, a center who can play the wing, is leading the Bulldogs in scoring and would have the easiest transition to the NHL game. Wyman is a right-winger with size who has 11 goals for Hamilton.

Also up for consideration is Aaron Palushaj, a rugged winger has been dealing with an ankle injury and consistency issues. Dustin Boyd has 11 goals in 14 games but would have to clear re-entry waivers. Ryan White only has two goals this season and is a slower but grittier version of Tom Pyatt.

The picture will become clearer as the injury reports and timelines surface in the coming days.

The Canadiens play next on Friday night in Ottawa and then again on Saturday when former captain Saku Koivu makes his return to the Bell Centre with Anaheim.

Plus/Minus

▲  Carey Price stopped 37 of 39 shots, many from short range. The Canadiens goaltender had to endure abuse from the Sabres who were in his crease and ran him all game long. Price bettered a good performance by Ryan Miller as he faced much more difficult scoring chances.

▲  With Halpern out, Tomas Plekanec’s already-heavy load increased several-fold. Plekanec led the team in shots-on-goal with five and was above 50 per cent at the faceoff dot.

▲  Lars Eller is solid over his skates. He was able to absorb the punishment of the Sabres and still create scoring chances.

▲  Yannick Weber led the Canadiens with four blocked shots. Particularly impressive was Weber’s work on Paul Gaustad (6’5″ 225lb.) using puck sense and positioning to neutralize the big Sabres forward.

▼  The performance by referees Greg Kimmerly and Mike Leggo deserves (but won’t get) a reprimand by Terry Gregson, the NHL’s director of officiating.

All Habs game stars

1. Carey Price
2. Tomas Plekanec
3. Hal Gill

Roster notes

Alexandre Picard was a healthy scratch. Benoit Pouliot had a virus. Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges are out for the season with a knee injuries.

(Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)