Deja Vu?

The Montreal Canadiens went to work against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night, but one could be mistaken for thinking that Saturday night’s game was a rerun of Thursday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Once again, the Canadiens came out listless in the first period. They were outskated, outshot, outhit and generally outmatched through 20 minutes in Buffalo. But much like on Thursday night, as the evening progressed, so did the tempo of the game for the Habs. They managed to tie the game in the 2nd period on a terrific shorthanded effort by Travis Moen, his 2nd goal in 2 games this season. Moen was eerily quiet in preseason, but with real points on the line, he seems to have come alive and is looking like a brilliant offseason acquisition by Bob Gainey. He brings energy, speed, toughness and finesse – he’s Tom Kostopoulos with an offensive touch and a thrill to watch.

The statistics don’t tell the story in this game. Although the Canadiens were outshot 11-1 in the 3rd period, it was by far their best period in the game as they more adeptly controlled the flow of the play and looked like a team that was hungry for a win. It took them until the overtime period to do it, where Scott Gomez connected with Brian Gionta on a beautifully lucky off the boards rebound. I told you on Thursday why Brian Gionta was Bob Gainey’s best move this summer, and he proved it again last night.

The Good

Once again, you have to admire the play of Carey Price in a game like this. He was as good as he was on Thursday night, and gave the Canadiens an opportunity to win. With a lesser goalie in net, the Canadiens would not have come away with 2 points last night.

On Friday, I talked a lot about the challenge that was being put in front of the Canadiens defensive corps with the absence of Andrei Markov, and their unimpressive play on Thursday. I can confidently say that last night, they stepped up in a big way, especially important as Ryan O’Byrne left the game in the first period after taking a slapshot on the foot. Roman Hamrlik, playing in his first game after missing Thursday’s tilt with an illness, was a presence all night long, and did a terrific job of controlling the play. Josh Gorges, Paul Mara, and Jaroslav Spacek were engaged in the play, stayed disciplined and kept the unforced errors to a minimum. And most importantly, Hal Gill looked much better. Maybe Thursday he was experiencing some first game jitters, especially after being given the assistant captaincy. You can’t expect much from a guy like Hal Gill, but if he can at least play at the level he did last night, then he will be a positive for this team.

The Not-So-Great

The Canadiens had two more players leave the game in the first period Saturday night, Ryan O’Byrne and Glen Metropolit. As mentioned earlier, O’Byrne took a slapshot directly to the foot and looked to be in pain leaving the ice. Metropolit apparently suffered an upper-body injury in a collision with Patrick Kaleta. Team officials have not given any word on the severity of the injuries yet, however one has to hope that neither is severe. With the loss of Markov, O’Byrne needs to be on the ice every night. He really improved his physique over the summer and showed a much greater willingness to play the body in preseason. This is a critical year for his development and a long-term injury would be a major setback. Metropolit brings the same game as Travis Moen – he scored a gritty goal on the power play against the Leafs Thursday, and was back out on the power play early in the game Saturday. He may not be an elite player, but sometimes the role players can be as important to a team as the franchise guys. With Chipchura still on the shelf, the Habs would likely rely on Greg Stewart to fill in, which is not encouraging based on Stewart’s play last night.

The Bad

Greg Stewart did not impress last night, his first game of the year. He had limited ice time, only 3:24, but in that time he managed to take a terrible penalty at a time when the Habs were just starting to build some serious momentum, and he otherwise was invisible. If he wants to carve a niche for himself in the NHL and on this team, he will need to make much smarter use of his ice time. In fact, he could take a lesson from Georges Laraque, who played a solid game, providing muscle and intimidation without sacrificing the overall goals of the team.

Finally, something is not right in Andrei Kostsitsyn’s world right now. On Thursday night, he played without head and heart. Word is that coach Jacques Martin had a word with Andrei before last night’s game, but it doesn’t seem to have done much as Andrei appears to be in another world on the ice. He’s not skating with any gusto, and he missed shots or completely missed the puck on routine plays. If the situation with Sergei Kostitsyn is taking  a toll on Andrei’s play, then the Habs brass needs to evaluate the situation and respond accordingly. That said, Andrei also needs to learn how to play well through adversity.

[Image Provided by TSN.ca]

Mathieu Morin is a lifetime Habs fan, and will be providing in depth coverage on the team throughout the season. In his spare time, he is the author and photographer behind the photoblog View Found, and the commissioner of the CMHL, a simulated fantasy hockey league.

He will be out of the office from October 5th until October 12th. Coverage of the Canadiens will return to Crash the Crease on October 13th.