Ann 2Game 18 Review: Slumping Canadiens Defeat Struggling Senators 3-2 In Shootout
November 23rd 2008 04:34
After the Montreal Canadiens' defeat against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, Guy Carbonneau said that their oncoming game against the Ottawa Senators was the perfect opportunity for his team to get it together. Although the Canadiens did win that game, they're still a big step away from seriously threatening the Eastern Conference's top teams.
Both teams started the game on a high, wanting to impress their respective head coaches. The result was a fast-paced, high-intensity first period with few whistles between plays. Unfortunately for the Habs, it was the home team who scored first via Dany Heatley five minutes into the game when he was left alone from the slot. That goal was a lesson enough for the Canadiens who spent the rest of the night making sure they always had two guys covering any player coming into the slot. They replied to the goal later in the first on the powerplay when Saku Koivu's shot found its way in between Alex Auld's legs.
The second period was a lot more subdued as both teams decided to close up in a defensive shell, no doubt afraid of making a mistake that would give the advantage to their opponent. Most of that period was played in the neutral zone as players picked away at the puck, trying to put it as far as possible from their net. To give you an idea of how closed off the game was, both teams had only eleven shots on goal after two periods.
The Sens broke the visitors' hope early in the third when Nick Foligno scored on the powerplay. However, unlike the game in Carolina where the Habs simply gave up, Guy Carbonneau's men picked up the pace and finally scored with five minutes left in the game thanks to a rocket shot by Andrei Markov. Ottawa benefited from a powerplay to start overtime but couldn't capitalize on the opportunity due to some brilliant play by the Canadiens' penalty-killers who allowed Price to see every single shot. In the shootout, Price was beaten only by Jason Spezza, denying both Daniel Alfredsson and Jarkko Ruutu (one has to wonder why Ruutu was sent on instead of Heatley) while Markov and Tanguay slipped the puck between Auld's pads for the win.
So, it's another shootout victory for the Canadiens who managed to pick 4 points out of 6 in a trip that took them to Columbus, Carolina, and Ottawa. The team spirit and character is gradually coming back (as evidenced by Steve Begin's fight against Cody Bass) but there's still a couple of floaters on the team. Now, they're back in Montreal for the jersey retirement of the great Patrick Roy.
My 3 Stars:
3.Alex Tanguay
2.Andrei Markov
1.Carey Price
Both teams started the game on a high, wanting to impress their respective head coaches. The result was a fast-paced, high-intensity first period with few whistles between plays. Unfortunately for the Habs, it was the home team who scored first via Dany Heatley five minutes into the game when he was left alone from the slot. That goal was a lesson enough for the Canadiens who spent the rest of the night making sure they always had two guys covering any player coming into the slot. They replied to the goal later in the first on the powerplay when Saku Koivu's shot found its way in between Alex Auld's legs.
The second period was a lot more subdued as both teams decided to close up in a defensive shell, no doubt afraid of making a mistake that would give the advantage to their opponent. Most of that period was played in the neutral zone as players picked away at the puck, trying to put it as far as possible from their net. To give you an idea of how closed off the game was, both teams had only eleven shots on goal after two periods.
The Sens broke the visitors' hope early in the third when Nick Foligno scored on the powerplay. However, unlike the game in Carolina where the Habs simply gave up, Guy Carbonneau's men picked up the pace and finally scored with five minutes left in the game thanks to a rocket shot by Andrei Markov. Ottawa benefited from a powerplay to start overtime but couldn't capitalize on the opportunity due to some brilliant play by the Canadiens' penalty-killers who allowed Price to see every single shot. In the shootout, Price was beaten only by Jason Spezza, denying both Daniel Alfredsson and Jarkko Ruutu (one has to wonder why Ruutu was sent on instead of Heatley) while Markov and Tanguay slipped the puck between Auld's pads for the win.
So, it's another shootout victory for the Canadiens who managed to pick 4 points out of 6 in a trip that took them to Columbus, Carolina, and Ottawa. The team spirit and character is gradually coming back (as evidenced by Steve Begin's fight against Cody Bass) but there's still a couple of floaters on the team. Now, they're back in Montreal for the jersey retirement of the great Patrick Roy.
My 3 Stars:
3.Alex Tanguay
2.Andrei Markov
1.Carey Price
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