Game Forty-Four: Panthers vs. Habs

Third Period:

- Fearless predicrion time: I tells ya, if the Panthers score to tie this up it'll be with that Bouillon/Murray pairing on the ice.

- Habs running at a 64% Fenwick clip right now, to no one's surprise.

- Plekanec leading a 2-on-1 break seemingly never ends well.

- Moen has been excellent in his own zone tonight, blocking shots and making timely checks.

- Habs really need to salt this one away before the Panthers, you know, take matters into their own hands.

- Markov/Emelin are ridiculously tentative protecting their crease. Basically backing their way into give Florida point blank shots on Price. 

- Habs finally get another powerplay chance. Opportunity to put this to bed.

- That great looking powerplay apparently pulled an Elvis and left the building during the first intermission.

- 5 minutes left, Panthers turning up the heat, Price making quality lead-saving stops.

- Murray making some fundamental mistakes in his zone, giving Panthers possession and more quality chances. He must be kept off the ice from here on out.

- Panthers go out with a whimper, Habs cling to lead, and win narrowly, even though the advanced stats will show you that it was no contest. Anyways, a W is a W.

 

Second Period:

- Because it's true. Markov/Emelin pairing is -10 against Florida this season. But then Habs decision makers probably don't look at things like stats.

- Thomas didn't make that save. The "Montreal guy" was checked to the ice and Thomas bumped the puck into the goal with his bad. Yet again the Habs have a goal taken off the board.

- Tim Thomas makes Dominic Hasak looked reserved between the pipes. How are these pucks not going in left and right? Frustrating.

- Rene Bourque appears dangerously close to entering benchland, if he hasn't arrived already. 

- Jovanovsky with a pretty wretched turnover behind his net to Plekanec who feeds Gionta in front for a relatively easy goal. 2-1 Habs. Panthers' sloppy defending finally catches up to them.

- Another Habs dominated period - the score really ought be 3 or 4 to 1. Habs outshooting by 14, outhitting, outhitting, outblocking and out checking Panthers soundly. There's no good reason for Montreal to not come out of this with 2 points.

First Period:

- Tim Thomas in goal. Habs can't score enough tonight. You just know they won't.

- Gallagher and Gionta broke their scoring slumps, when will Bourque? (If ever).

- That was one sweet backward spinorama move by Desharnais, making Thomas look bad. Really bad. More, please. 1-0 Habs.

- That's the kind of move you see by a confident player. Desharnais has turned it totally around.

- Itchy trigger whistles cost the Habs yet another goal. That's what - at least three the past two weeks? 

- Habs have their speedy skates on tonight. Panthers' defenders expending all they're worth to maintain the pace.

- When the Panthers defense isn't busy being slow, they're busy being so so very sloppy. Habs getting great chances, Thomas making unorthodox saves to keep Florida in this.

- Man, Habs all over Florida like a wet rag on their first powerplay, Panthers saved by the post. Nonetheless, Habs man advantage looks really sharp tonight.

- Bournival giving Habs 4th line a nice dimension of speed and energy. Really silly what the kid needs to do to earn starts on this team.

- Remember a month or so ago when Desharnais looked totally void of confidence? That's Rene Bourque right now.

- Markov chasing, and Emelin soft ... again. This duo simply isn't clicking and needs to be dismantled immediately. Panthers tie with less than 3 minutes left and Habs missed their opportunity to take firm control of this game.

- Habs really dominated the first, got screwed by a quick refs whistle out of a 2-0 lead, and then lost their lead altogether because Michel Therrien has no idea what he's doing with his defense. It takes some real ingenuity to outplay your opponent that much and still find yourself no futher ahead.

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HAPPY MONDAY GAHHHHHHH 

IT IS FIVE BILLION DEGREES BELOW ZERO.

You know what's worse than living out on the Canadian Prairies when it's -35 degrees outside, and -52 with a breeze? NOTHING.

So yeah, you pansies out in Toronto who call in the army any time the thermometer drops close to -15 degrees know nothing about pain and suffering. NOTHING.

Okay, I've had my fridged little rant, now let's do some game day hockey talk.

Habs and Panthers tonight! Hoo boy ... will this be a snoozefest. What have we got in advance?

- Carey Price, he who will be announced to the Canadian Olympic hockey team in less than 24 hours, will start.

- Ryan White is out at least two weeks with an upper body injury. 

- In a decision that can only be described as inexorably perplexing, Raphael Diaz is a healthy scratch again tonight. This in light of a very poor and disorganized showing by the Habs defensive on Saturday night with Diaz out of the lineup.

Yeah, me either.

- OH YEAH BY THE WAY. Diaz was announced to the Swiss Olympic team this morning.

-  Habs just announced that tonight's lineup will be the same as Saturdays. OH happy joy.

More later.