It was Carey Price who was sick but it was his team that was weak in their opening game loss to the even weaker Toronto Maple Leafs.
Imagine a Montreal team that included Mike Cammalleri, Andrei Markov and Roman Hamrlik in the line -up. It’s not hard to picture a much different outcome than the 3 – 2 loss handed to the Canadiens.The trio add a Domino effect which trickles throughout the team in terms of playmaking, goal scoring and most importantly team moral.When three of your most important players are missing in action it alters the entire mindset of a team and forces players such as Gionta and Gomez to concentrate a little more on defence rather than the piece of mind that encourages a slant toward goal scoring.
Ironically, it was the Habs’ third and fourth lines that picked up the slack as newcomers Dustin Boyd and Jeff Halpern netted the Canadiens’ two markers.It marked the first two goals in a Canadiens uniform for ‘nouveau deaux’. Lars Eller, who replaced Cammalleri on a line with Plekanec and Kostitsyn, had some outstanding moments and showed why he is a highly touted prospect.
Halak’s Memory Fading ?
Midway through the third period – Eller picked up a loose puck just inside the Leaf blueline and with two quick strides was sweeping past a flatfooted Phaneuf. After drawing Giguere to his left, Lars quickly brought the puck back to his right and Giguere made a tremendous save with his pad.That kept the score at 3 -2 and saved whatever momentum Toronto had in it’s favour. Eller will become a twenty goal scorer this season and will only add to those totals over the years as long as coach Martin gives him sufficient ice time. Like fellow rookie P.K. Subban, Eller will make his share of mistakes.Those mistakes should not glue him to the bench as long as the coaching staff along with the veterans on the team, provide adequate leadership and encourage  the young Dane. Habs fans do not want another John LeClair . Let Eller pretend he has removed his helmet and like Guy Lafleur, let his blonde hair blow as he makes his way toward erasing the memory of Jaroslav Halak.
Price Solid
Carey Price played a strong game in goal, letting in a lone backhander that he probably should have stopped. The other two Toronto markers were more the fault of a weakened defence rather than Carey’s misgivings. Spacek misses his partner Hamrlik and it showed on more than a few shifts as several Leafs took advantage of Spacek’s miscues. A defensive pairing normally has good communication and each one knows what the other is doing the more the duo play together. Spacek seemed to be a step behind and appeared to look for Hamrlik who is still nursing a sore knee. Hamrlik is expected to be in the line-up Wednesday against the Lightning.
The Habs play the Penguins tonight in their new arena. New arena but same old Penguins as Crosby et al will attempt to take revenge on a Habs team that knocked them out of the semi-finals in last seasons’ playoffs.
Andrei Markov is still a few weeks away from a return but Mike Cammalleri will be back in the line -up after serving his one game suspension. This will ‘free’ some of the Habs players for more offense and more goals is the least they could do for their netminder. Last season, in the fourteen losses that Price suffered, the team scored two or less goals. If you put Halak on top of Price and threw them  between the pipes – the duo wold never hold a winning record with that type of offense.
Talk about weak.