Clear 13 oC
| Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres @ Bell Centre - October 18, 2011 |
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| Written by Carey |
| Wednesday, 19 October 2011 15:29 |
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They come into the game with a 1-2-1 record while the new look Sabres were 3-1. While the Canadiens went small over the summer in regards to free agent signings (winger Eric Cole and back up goaltender Peter Budaj) the Sabres made a big splash signing defenceman Robin Regehr, winger Brad Boyes, defenceman Ville Leino, and defenceman Christian Ehrhoff. These additions made an already strong team even stronger. And with an elite goaltender like Ryan Miller between the pipes this is a team that will make some waves in the Eastern Conference. This was the finale of a three-game homestand for the Canadiens. They have lost the first two games and were hoping to end on winning note. Trying to find some winning combinations coach Jacques Martin is shuffling his “D” pairings tonight as PK Subban will be matched with Josh Gorges and new father Hal Gill will be with Raphael Diaz. After a nice tribute to record setting Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo, which saw the crowd give his a long and loud standing ovation, the Canadiens came out firing on all cylinders. They came out and almost score a goal a mere 9 seconds in. Montreal was looking strong early in the game. They took 9 shots at Miller in 5:30 minutes and were in control of the game. Despite some quality chances, especially from the David Desharnais-Max Pacioretty-Andrei Kostitsyn line, and two power play opportunities the Habs were not able to score in the 1st period. You got the feeling that they would regret not scoring early goals as Miller was getting stronger as the game went on. The Desharnais-Pacioretty-Kostitisyn line was all over the ice all night and Martin rewarded their strong play with plenty of ice time. Desharnais is becoming the playing we all believed Scott Gomez was and Pacioretty is showing signs of being the power forward he was on his way to becoming before his devastating injury last season. Montreal finally broke through with a goal early in the 2nd period. At 2:08 Diaz scored his first NHL goal off a nice feed from Pacioretty. Diaz showed patience after taking the pass and pulled Miller out of his net before wristing it into a deserted net. He is beginning to show the skill set that must have been the reason the Habs signed the Swiss defenceman. As long as he keeps improving his play in the defensive zone his offensive skills will make him a valuable addition to the blueline corps. In what was a turning point to the game at the 7:00 mark while the team was on a power play centreman Tomas Plekanec had a marvellous scoring chance. After a puck deflected off of Lars Eller in front of the net it fell right onto Plekanec’s stick with Miller completely out of position. He just had to put it into the empty net. What he actually did was shoot the puck right back into Miller’s body. A golden opportunity wasted.
Their first goal at 12:09 of the 2nd tied the game 1-1. Lax defensive coverage on his man by Mathieu Darche coupled with a big, juicy rebound given up by Carey Price led to a Jordan Leopold goal. A brain cramp by Gorges resulted in him icing the puck with 6 seconds left in the 2nd. Desharnais was totally overmatched in the faceoff circle by Paul Gaustad and defenceman Marc-Andre Gragnani found Tomas Vanek, who had been left alone by Kostitsyn, outwaited Price and then scored on a shot that demonstrated his goal scoring skills. 2-1 Sabres and that was all she wrote, folks. Well, not exactly as Martin pulled Price with 1:24 left in the 3rd and Christian Ehrhoff potted an empty net goal. This was a game Montreal deserved to win and the loss meant it was the first time since 1938 that Montreal has lost their first three home games. The Habs next game is in Pittsburgh against the Penguins on Thursday night. It is confirmed that Sidney Crosby won’t play as won’t Kris Letang, who was suspended for two games for a hit from behind. With Tyler Kennedy (concussion) and Evgeni Malkin (knee) also being doubtful it seems like a perfect time to be playing the Pens. Hopefully the team can keep up their strong play, eliminate the costly mistakes and improve their special team play. Game Stats: |
News came before the game versus the Buffalo Sabres that defenceman Andrei Markov would definitely not be returning to play anytime in October. This news came did not come as a surprise to anyone who follows the team. Though we could all hope. The team could really use his leadership and skills back on the blueline as Montreal has a young, inexperienced defence without him (and injuries to Chris Campoli and Jaroslav Spacek). The early part of the season has been a struggle for the bleu-blanc-rouge.
Miller was the reason that Montreal did not have a bigger lead. He was keeping his team close despite the fact that they were being outshot by a large margin. The whole game must have felt like deja-vu for Montreal fans and players. It harkened back to how the Canadiens have won games the past couple of seasons. The goaltender making plenty of saves and the team capitalizing on their few opportunities. That is exactly what the Sabres did. They had two chances and scored on both of them.
19:31: Buffalo Goal - (en) Christian Ehrhoff assisted by Derek Roy