Montreal 3 Buffalo 4 SO (Bell Centre)
posted by Rocket
AllHabs.blogspot.com
It was a very entertaining hockey game tonight: two teams battling for a playoff spot; two good coaches; two excellent goalies. Despite the loss, there were positives for the Canadiens.
Bob Gainey has to be pleased that his team took five of six points this week. He should be happy that at times, they are playing closer to their potential and look like a completely different team than under their previous coach.
It was an exciting first period. The Habs played well outshooting Buffalo 12-to-8. Carey Price and Ryan Miller traded great saves. The Sabres scored as a hard pass by Johan Hecht was tipped in by a wide open Adam Mair. Saku Koivu hit the post as the period expired.
The only ones not on their game in the first were the officials. The linesmen threw both Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev out of the faceoff circle which led to a rarely called minor penalty to Kovalev. The linesman seemed to be at fault for delaying to drop the puck while both were set.
Buffalo’s goal came a mere five seconds after Kovalev’s penalty expired.
The Canadiens started slowly in the second. Buffalo scored a power-play goal when Price made a great save on Thomas Vanek but the Habs couldn’t clear. Connolly buried his shot with traffic around the net.
The Habs came to life on a terrific shot by Chris Higgins. Good work by Metropolit and Dandenault to set up the play.
The Canadiens then scored two more making it three goals in a seven minute span to lead the Sabres 3-2.
Price made several more big stops including saves on Pominville and Vanek to finish the period.
The Habs sat back in the third period. They weren’t aggressive on the forecheck. They weren’t getting pucks deep in the Buffalo zone. The Sabres outshot the Canadiens 16-to-7.
Buffalo’s tying goal came as the Habs were caught chasing the puck. Montreal fell into the bad habit of poor defensive coverage.
Price had a great game and was the best Canadiens’ player. He hasn’t lost in regulation in seven games with a record of 4-0-3. The Canadiens have taken 11 of a possible 14 points with Price in goal.
Chris Higgins continues his terrific play and was rewarded with a goal tonight. Metropolit is playing smart hockey and Dandenault is great on the forecheck.
Koivu’s line continues to provide the offensive spark. The trio had five points tonight. Kovalev had two goals with one coming via the power-play.
Matt D’Agostini continues to struggle. He played less than five minutes in this game. Plekanec and Sergei Kostitsyn will hopefully welcome back Andrei Kostitsyn on Tuesday night to help this line to contribute.
The Lapierre line didn’t play well. Guillaume Latendresse was missing in action for most of the game. Lapierre was only 28% on faceoffs and delivered a questionable hit to Patrick Kaleta. Tom Kostopoulos fought Craig Rivet.
Josh Gorges was back to his inconsistent play. Mathieu Schneider played too many minutes and his defensive play suffered. Roman Hamrlik seems to try too hard when paired with Patrice Brisebois. Brisebois is simply the worst player on the ice each night. His play is embarrassing for an NHL defenseman.
The Canadiens once again could not play a solid 60 minute game. Giving up goals in the third period is also becoming a bad habit in this home stand.
The conference standings for the playoffs are even tighter after tonight just as the Canadiens are scheduled to face tougher opposition.
Pre-game
Starting lineup: Lapierre, Latendresse, Kostopoulos, Brisebois, Hamrlik
Carey Price and Ryan Miller started in goal.
O’Byrne, Laraque, and Stewart were scratched from the line-up. Andrei Kostitsyn was out with the flu. Bouillon and Lang were on injured reserve.
Lines:
Koivu-Kovalev-Tanguay
Plekanec-D’Agostini-Sergei Kostitsyn
Lapierre-Latendresse-Kostopoulos
Metropolit-Higgins-Dandenault
Rocket’s three stars:
1. Ryan Miller
2. Carey Price
3. Chris Higgins
(photo credit: Getty Images)
Sorry Rocket, but you sound like a broken record which keeps skipping on the same music note or in this case, the same complaint.
Most Hab fans already understand Patrice Brisebois is over the hill and at best, a seventh defenseman. We don’t need a constant reminder of his inefficient play.
You better get use to seeing Briser’s face around the Bell Centre as he has stated he wants to remain with the Canadiens organization in some capacity.
Now that Carbonneau is gone, you will probably still have Brisebois to kick around next year when he is coaching the defense.
A large portion of your post game articles can be focused on Briser’s incompetent as a coach, instead of as a player…….imagine the possibilities!
Good review! This Brisebois phenomenom is quite the scenario. He is, in every game, the Canadiens worst player. He is outmuscled by smaller and bigger players. He is caught flat footed and gets deked on by guys like Adam Mair. His passes can find an oponents stick like no other player in the league. When the opposing team is cycling he is way behind his check, which follows with him being completely lost. He’s slow. His defensive awareness is pathetic. It’s insulting to every defenseman in the Habs system who can’t get in the lineup and are forced to think that Brisebois is a better player than them.
Is there a worse defensive pair in the NHL than Hamerlik and Breezer? I don’t know how Bob could let us get so far with those two out there. They look like the Keystone Cops! Hopefully Bullion will be back sooner than later and Breeze can go back to the pressbox. Two more years of Hamerlik? Sheesh!
Well, we have a Breezer fest in the comments!
On game nights, there are dozens and dozens of comments (in both official languages) wondering why Brisebois is in the lineup. Here’s one from the Buffalo game: “For the sake of my sanity, please lock Breezer in a trunk…”
I think its clear that Brise is playing the worst hockey of any defenceman to don a Canadiens jersey and get a regular shift.
In fact even the two people this season that have said I shouldn’t mention Brisebois haven’t argued with the analysis. Instead they essentially said ‘look away, bacause its too horrible to watch’.
Some are willing to give Brise a free pass for game after game of terrible play. It is expected they say, so no need to mention it. I’m sure that the Capitals bloggers would disagree with that approach. While they expect Ovechkin to score every game, they are only too happy to report it.
There are no defencmen as bad as breezer in my summer hockey league.
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