First Period:
- Rick Nash gets his first start of the night. Just our luck. Anything to help the Rangers' ridiculously awful power play.
- Rangers were supposed to be where the Habs are now, so methinks Tortorella and company will be playing a little desperate tonight. Carey Price will start, hoping he'll get his game back on track after a tough 40 minutes in Boston.
- Full disclosure, I'm currently on a flight to Montreal so my blogging will probably cease somewhere in the second period.
- Michael Ryder continues his excellent play, Rangers get caught on a line change and 47 seconds in, Habs grab the lead. Terrible start for New York.
- 25 points for Subban now, and this for someone who missed three weeks of the season and had no training camp. That's why he's now a prominent Norris trophy candidate.
- For the most part Rangers have responded well to the Ryder goal, they're being very aggressive with the forecheck in Habs zone, doing their best to crash in front of Price.
- 8 shots for Rangers in 8 minutes. That's got to be concerning for the Canadiens.
- Plekanec line looks excellent early going. They've already scored one, fully expecting more.
- Price solid so far, his SP against the Rangers this season now over .980. Think he's got their number?
- Gorges and Emelin can't let Gabarik sneak behind them like that. Price bails then out, but he can't do it all night long.
- Rangers power play fails to produce again, but unlike previous games this season against the Habs, tonight it actually looks dangerous.
- And the Plekanec line does indeed strike again, this time it's Plekanec along the wing on a 2-on-1, and Biron ... ehhh ...
- Crazy as this sounds, Rangers were the better team in that period, generating numerous quality chances, but Price was excellent, and Habs offense meanwhile, capitalized. Tortorella must be awfully frustrated. It's just not the Rangers' year.
Second Period:
- Well, my flight is being called, so the end is near for updates. Just hoping Price continues his excellent play for 40 more minutes, and the Plekanec line keeps stormin' along. Still thing Rangers are more than in this game, they just need to bury their chances.
- Price continues to be solid, just made fine save on Richards off the break, but this game is starting to settle in a bit now.
- For so many times this year, it starts with a Subban rocket from the point, this time Desharnais and Gallagher swarming for the rebound, Gallagher cashing in. Rangers really in tough now down 3-0.
- Gallagher playing extra fearless tonight, driving Biron crazy when he's not also busy driving Rangers' defense crazy shot blocking.
- Solid 2nd period for Habs, they're simply too much for New York, whose offense looks cursed. They are a team missing fundamental chemistry. Goes to show you can throw big money at big names but if the bunch doesn't gel, wins come very hard.
Gameday Game Update:
- This just announced a few minutes ago, Habs have placed Thomas Kaberle on waivers, saving a mere $900,000K off this season's cap. Yeah, we knew he was untradable, but still, trying to figure this move out. Saves virtually nothing on the cap, we have two others injured, Weber and Diaz (the later might be season-ending), which leaves a significant burden on the two very young guys - Tinordi and Beaulieu.
Huh. There's gotta be something else about to happen.
Roster Moves
Interesting stuff this morning. First, the good news. Brandon Prust will be playing tomorrow night against the Rangers, meaning he'll play on the third line along side Eller and Galchenyuk. Colby Armstrong will be shifted down to the fourth line, which will greatly benefit Eller, who struggled to adapt to Armstong's general offensive incompetence. Not a slag on Colby, but his role has and always will be to bolster grinders.
Now the interesting moves. Jarred Tinordi has been sent back to Hamilton, which many assumed would mean either Yannick Weber or Tomas Kaberle would start Saturday night. However, late this morning Nathan Beaulieu was called up. What to make of that? With the Habs now entering an extended period of home dates, is Bergevin wanting to see if Beaulieu is NHL-capable? Or, is a trade being prepared that involves Weber? Or is Beaulieu, who is frequently mentioned as the "prospect candidate" involving a trade, being showcased?
More later.
HAPPY THURSDAY!
The Boston Bruins. LOL.
More later.
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