Like a young couple alone on the couch for their first time during a brief courtship , the Habs and Buins spent the first twenty minutes feeling each other out last night.
Just as the Habs were about to make the first move , Tim Thomas shut the door on a goal mouth scranble at the 18 : 47 which led to Travis Moen and McQuaid to behave as two parents would upon the discovery of their first born enthralled in a shall of passion.The two men disposed of the following two minutes – toe to toe as they exchanged right jabs. Some hit – some missed.Since the NHL has not always kept track of such things , the fight between the pair was probably in the neighborhood of 1, 100 between the two clubs in their long and historic rivalry. Who’s counting ?
The scrap placed the salt and pepper on the table for a more appetizing second period.
Bergeron beat Price on a one – timer four minutes into the second as the absence of Josh Gorges began to rear it’s ugly head.The Habs most dependable rearguard in all situations , not too mention the club’s now former ironman , has been lost to the team for the remainder of the regular season. Josh is to undergo surgery on his ACL.
Markov , now Gorges .
Suddenly the Bell Center is starting to appear like the old Boston Gah – den.
Depleted Defence
A defence corps that consists of three veterans , two rookies and two journey – men , were not able to contain Patrice Bergeron this evening. The Bruins’ forward pounced on a Chara blocked shot midway in the second and before half of the world’s aboriginal people discovered that America had elected a black President – Bergeron slid the puck to Price’s stick side. The Habs – puck challenged as they are , were facing the league’s best goalie in Tim Thomas so a two – zip deficit was more discouraging than Christmas without a tree.
One must wonder what has happened to Plekanec, Kostisyn and Cammalleri ? Has the league gotten tighter now that all the Eggnog has disappeared ? Are the trio on strike against Martin’s defensive system ? Whatever the reason – it made Mike Cammalleri sick. Literally. Number 13 left midway through the second period with flu – like symptoms.
The Habs commenced adding pressure seven minutes into the third when the ‘Wiz’ did what he does best. Wisniewski fired a bullet from the left point that forced Thomas to make his biggest save of the evening . Tim barely got his blocker up in time to stop James’ cannonball that was labelled for the top corner. Mathieu Darche did his best Al ‘ Scoop ‘ Oliver impersonation and batted the puck out of mid – air and into the net. Upon review , the goal was disallowed as the ref deemed that Darche made contact above his shoulder. The official may have gaged the contact using 5 ‘ 6 ” Gionta as his measuring stick. A questionable call that at the very least – gave Les Canadiens an angry energy that enabled them to continue a period where they eventually outshot the Bruins 18 – 8.
Missing a Leader ?
Back in the day , when the Habs were winning many Cups – the Robinson’s , the Shutt’s and the Lemaire’s were not the same when Guy Lafleur was on the bench.He was their leader and they all looked to him to guide them with a pass , a shot or just his mere presence.This is what the current day Canadiens sorely miss.
Judgement was something that Thomas suddenly ‘ missed ‘ and now Scott Gomez must send the Bruin goalie a ‘ Thank You ‘ note once a month for the remainder of the season. The Habs number eleven delivered a shot that would have lost a race to a snail . The puck trickled through Thomas ‘ legs ‘ a la Bill Buckner ‘ which left both sides of Thomas’ head bright red. That goal continued the momentum that the Habs contained and it was as if Guy Lafleur had appeared and was leading his former team down the road to victory.
Le ‘ Wiz ‘ .
The ‘ Wiz ‘ took it one step further and motioned his team down the ‘ Yellow Brick Road ‘ as he unleashed another poignant shot shot from his perch atop the Bruins’ zone. The puck was low and ricocheted off of Gionta’s stick , Thomas’ pad and the Habs ‘ captain’s skate. Once again , the ref demanded the upstair official to check his IPhone and review the play on Youtube. The goal was allowed as the ‘ powers that be ‘ deemed Gionta’s skate was not intentionally used to direct the puck into the net. The game was tied at two and into overtime the match continued.
Blake Wheeler was called for tripping three minutes into the extra period in the offensive zone. A definate no – no and it is safe to say that Mr . Wheeler will be polishing coach Julien’s shoes for a few days. Max Pacioretty took a puck into the zone and slowed enough to let three Boston defenders and two of his teammates continue past him toward the goal. Using everyone as a screen , he lifted a wrist shot into the corner just beyond Thomas’ reach.
It was the biggest goal of Pacioretty’s career and he gave Chara a little push to his backside as the Bruin giant skated past him. Whether or not Chara was angry over the push or the fact that the Bruins ‘ captain missed an empty net at the 19 : 00 minute mark of the third – no one knows. A small skirmish took place with Chara giving Gomez a few shots to the head before the Habs’ resident giant – Hal Gill , stepped in to defend his shorter mate.
The game ended in typical Canadien – Bruin fashion . The pair of Original Six rivals hating one another and carrying ill feelings to a re- match on the 9th of February in Beantown.
The match also ended with a Habs 3 – 2 victory that – without the ghosts , was a Bruin 2 – 0 shut – out.
What do you think about that Don Cherry ?
The Habs play the Rangers tomorrow night on Broadway in a four pointer before a re – match with Penguins at the Bell Center on Wednesday.
Check out Pens Labrynth for up to date Crosby news from Bill Mayer.
Too Many Men on the Site will bring up to date NHL news.
Don’t forget to answer the new poll question !