Ca-rey! Ca-rey! Ca-rey! The Canadiens faithful chant the name of their franchise phenom after posting a shutout.
And that’s all it takes for Saturday to be forgotten. Not quite. Tonight the Canadiens had a large supporting cast. As Price said “Everyone gave an honest effort tonight.”
Let’s look at the stars first. Carey Price was solid, focused, and several times, spectacular. It is games like this one that display his dominance. He continues to be the Canadiens best player this season.
In only his third game with linemates Koivu and Tanguay, both great passers, Chris Higgins showed that he can be a sniper. He had 8 shots (5 in the first period alone) and scored 3 times with his quick release. His chemistry with Saku Koivu is clearly evident.
Koivu really showed his terrific leadership tonight. He was the hardest worker at both ends of the ice. He also had 5 shots. Alex Tanguay was having a quiet game until he set up Higgins for the Canadiens 4th goal, continuing his point per game pace.
The Canadiens had a great start to the first period. By the 10 minute mark they were outshooting Ottawa 8-2. And they were spending very little time in their own end…something identified as a key to limiting shots in my earlier article. The Habs’ transition game was much sharper.
Alex Kovalev was better this game. He and his linemates were a threat all night with 9 shots. Kovy was also good defensively and dangerous on the PK. I really like that Andrei Kostitsyn has resumed his aggressive play. He made a solid hit on Fisher to separate him from the puck.
Lang was the Canadiens best faceoff man tonight. Sergei Kostitsyn got plenty of powerplay time on the right point, and made a superb pass to set up Higgins second goal. Gui Latendresse broke out of his 11 game slump with a goal right off a Lang faceoff win.
The 4th line played a regular shift but didn’t offer much tonight. You have to love the spirit of Max Lapierre. He had 8 hits tonight. Unfortunately, not one hit led to a Ottawa turnover. For example, Max hit Jason Smith and bounced off. Smith simply took the hit and continued with the puck, then cleared the zone.
Again tonight, Georges Laraque added little. A 3 on 1 led by Lapierre was spoiled by Laraque’s slow footspeed. When Lapierre received a vicious elbow headshot by Ruutu, it was Francis Bouillon who stepped in a fought while Georges looked on. I will give credit to Laraque for not fighting in the third when the fans were encouraging him to go after Chris Neil and Ruutu. At that point, it was 3-0 and there was nothing to be gained by fighting.
Mike Komisarek was especially feisty tonight and led the defensive corp. He clearly heard Carbonneau’s message to protect Price, the team’s “meal ticket” (as described by Pierre McGuire). Any player near the Price crease received attention from the defense (as it should be!)
Ryan O’Byrne had his best game of the season with 6 hits. He was tough on the Ottawa forwards separating them from the puck and making quick outs. O’Byrne had an assist on the Canadiens second goal after Alex Auld made a good save on Ryan’s blast from the point. The coaching staff must have approved as O’Byrne was on the ice for the final shift of the game.
In addition to standing up for his teammate, Francis Bouillon was good defensively especially in penalty killing situations. His partner, Josh Gorges had an inconsistent game. He got 2 assists but struggled defensively. Spezza, Fisher and Alfredsson all had turns going around Gorges with ease.
Alex Auld was the Ottawa player that caught my attention. He looked sharp making 28 saves. He is playing very well right now but can he be the #1 goalie for this team?
Begin, Brisebois and Kostopoulos (suspension) in the press box.
Remembrance Day tribute to the fallen soldiers of all conflicts by the Canadian legion colour guard.
Rocket’s 3 stars:
1. Carey Price
2. Chris Higgins
3. Saku Koivu
(photo credit: AP photo)