Tuesday, November 14, 2006

A Win, Is A Win, Is A Win

It was at times ugly, and it certainly was nothing to write home about, but the Habs took care of business against the shockingly lowly Senators last night. The Habs came out flat in the first period, the Sens had all the jump, but Huet kept the Habs in it early, and the tide slowly changed from the second period onward.

I saw this game as a snap shot of both teams performances thus far this year. The Sens, came out of the gate, guns blazing, only to be spanked in the third period yet again. There is something wrong in the Nations Capital. Whether it be chemistry, leadership, goal tending, guts, or coaching, a shake up is eminent in Ottawa, of that I am sure. As for the Habs, this game was typical of their early season performance thus far...they came out flat, listless, Mike Komisarek's huge hit on McGratton, and his shorthanded goal woke the Habs up, but the Habs continue to play with fire, with their undisciplined play. Yes their special team play has been stellar, but you can not continually allow the other team to have powerplay chances....this game should have been over when the Habs were up 4-1. A steady Habs stream to the penalty box, allowed the Sens to make it close, when they scored 2 powerplay goals in the third to make it 4-3. Mike Johnson thankfully put it away with his unassisted wrister. If you are a frequenter of any of the Habs forums out there, you know that many fans believe that their team is being singled out by the refs...I wouldn't go that far, yes I believe the refs are inconsistent, and well piss poor, but I will not succumb to a conspiracy theory yet. The time has come for Carbo and the rest of his staff, to study game film, and try and teach this team how to stay out of the box.

So yes, a win, is a win, is a win. The Habs once again did not show up for a full 60 minutes, but I was impressed, not only with the kids, Lats, Kosti, and Perez, were stellar, but, Komi, Huet, Saku, and the whole 3rd line played excellent games last night. As messy as this game was at times, the right team won. Go Habs Go.

4 comments:

Faux Rumors2 said...

1) Still trying to figure out which teams are supposed to be good. Other than Buffalo and Atlanta, any team in the East can beat every other team
2) Teams like Ottawa and Philly are very beatable this year when they were on top last year. Pittsburgh and Washington are now decent
3) Glad we don't like to gamble!

Joseph said...

ya the east is a mess this year. whether the cause is the salary cap, or an inability to adapt to the new nhl (shouldn't effect ottawa) i am not sure. the cap has sure made it difficult for the once elite teams like say philly, t.o., the avs or detroit to pull off a big deal as a way to right a sinking ship. i still believe the sens have the goods to turn it around..the flyers are a lost cause i think..as for the pens, caps, and even the thrashers, i believe their bubbles are about ready to burst. makes for fun hockey viewing for sure, and i am sure glad i am not a gambler either.

faux rumors said...

1) The Caps will definitly come back down a notch or two. The Pens are a bit too young to stay in the playoff race all year, but are definitly better.
2) The Thrashers have enough vets that we believe they will stay in competation for the SE division all year

Joseph said...

my fear with the thrashers is their defence, they can put the puck in the net to be sure..i expect them, the leafs, and my habs to be fighting for 7, 8, 9 spots come the end of the season. but again who the hell knows what is going to happen in the east this year.