HabsCast Hockey Blog

HabsCast 3 Stars

( 1 ) Cristobal Huet

( 2 ) Alex Kovalev

( 3 ) Mike Komisarek

I can finally say that the Canadiens completely controlled a game, well maybe not in the shots department. The Canadiens did, however, outplay the Boston Bruins tonight. They moved the puck beautifully and capitalized on most of their chances. They went 2-8 on the powerplay and had 4 five-on-five goals. The Canadiens finally found a way to score five-on-five and each of them came from different lines. Higgins, Kovalev, Grabovski, and Begin scored even strength goals for the Habs tonight, while Markov and Brisebois had the powerplay goals. All in all, it was a great team effort on the part of the Canadiens.

The Bruins, on the other hand, took a lot of shots but the stellar play of Cristobal Huet sent them home packing. The Bruins weren’t able to solve Huet until the six minute mark of the third period to reduce the lead to 4-1. They kept the heat coming, however, Grabovski’s goal sealed the deal. It was Grabovski’s first goal in the NHL and it was thanks to a beautiful play on the part of Brian Smolinski who faked the shot and quickly passed it cross ice for Grabovski to finish.

Game in Numbers

A stat that should be acknowledged is the plus 20 rating that the Canadiens had tonight. Francis Bouillon had a plus 3 rating while Mark Streit was a plus 2. Every player, except for Brisebois, had a plus rating tonight, something that Carbonneau should be happy about.

The Canadiens also accumulated a total of 17 points between all of them, which is the highest of the year thus far. This game was the widest gap the Canadiens won by all season and just the second time that they won by more than two goals. The Canadiens defeated the Sabres on Saturday 4-2 with an empty netter.

Steve Begin led the Canadiens in the hit department tonight with a total of 5. He also added a goal thanks to a beautiful play by Tom Kostopolous. What Begin did tonight is what he should do every game. He was in front of the net and he was rewarded for it.

Captain Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev, and Tomas Plekanec were the only players on the Canadiens to score two points. Kovalev had a goal and an assist while Plekanec and Koivu each had two assists.

Line by Line

Higgins – Koivu – Ryder

These guys played great; however, Ryder was clearly the sluggish one on the ice tonight. Higgins played incredible, scoring a goal and giving 4 hits. This guy is by far the best player so far this season. He never quits the play and makes the most of his opportunities.

Latendresse – Plekanec – Kovalev

I still don’t know why Latendresse is on this line and what Carbonneau sees in it. Latendresse is a great hitter, however, he’s choppy with the puck and isn’t a great skater. Plekanec did what he had to do tonight and that’s win faceoffs. One of them leaded to Kovalev’s goal. Kovalev really turned his game on tonight and delivered.

Grabovski – Smolinski – Dandenault

I really like this line but I still don’t know why Kostitsyn isn’t playing. Frankly, I would prefer to have Kostitsyn over Grabovski on the line because he’s a better all around player. However, Grabovski made it hard for that to happen tonight with his play. Smolinski played great as always and made some spectacular plays including his assist on Grabovski’s goal. Dandenault…WOW!! This guy makes things happen and quick. He’s skating hard, hitting hard, and well playing hard. This is the kind of thing Carbonneau loves on a checking line.

Begin – Chipchura – Kostopolous

Chipchura is really panning out and it didn’t take him long. Already I see the patience he has with the puck and how well he handles it. Tonight it showed. Chipchura played a great defensive game along with the rest of the line. Also, I forgot to mention that he scored his 1st career NHL goal on Saturday night on a beautiful wrist shot through traffic. Steve Begin scored his first of the season thanks to the patience that Kostopolous had with the puck.

The shots on goal tonight really didn’t reflect the way the Canadiens played. They did what they couldn’t do yet this season and that is they capitalized on their chances. Cristobal Huet also played extremely well so expect him to start on Friday night when they play in Buffalo.

FYI: Guy Carbonneau was asked by a reporter about the elasticity of the boards of the Bell Centre and how the Bruins were complaining about it at the end of the game. Carbonneau responded that it wasn’t the boards fault that they lossed 6-1. It’s kinda funny because Ryan Miller said the same thing after his team lost on Saturday night. after his team lost on Saturday night.

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