Ann 2Game 23 Review: Canadiens Come Back From Behind To Defeat Sabres 3-2
December 1st 2008 21:22
After an embarrassing loss in Washington on Friday, Montreal fans didn't expect a whole lot 24 hours later when the Canadiens were to face the Buffalo Sabres. The same could be said for the Sabres as they too were coming to Montreal struggling to put some wins together. As a matter of fact, they too had a difficult game the night before as they were crushed 7-2 by the Boston Bruins. For the umpteenth time this decision, Guy Carbonneau switched up his lines to get more effort out of his players. Since Alex Tanguay still felt some pain from a neck injury picked up on Wednesday against Detroit, Bulldogs' call-up Matt D'Agostini took his place next to Saku Koivu and Christopher Higgins. Robert Lang was reunited with Pittsburgh linemate Alex Kovalev while Guillaume Latendresse completed the line. Maxime Lapierre was put between the Kostitsyn brothers while Tomas Plekanec centered Steve Begin and Tom Kostopolous. In defense, Mathieu Dandenault took Ryan O'Byrne's place who watched the game from the pressbox for the second time this season.
Despite having a lot more jump to their game, it was the Canadiens who conceded the first goal halfway through the first period when Thomas Vanek scored his 17th of the season on the powerplay after Higgins' failed to clear the puck. It was the only goal of the first as Montreal failed to capitalize on two powerplay opportunities.
The Habs came back strong in the second period, equalizing the mark three minutes into play when Andrei Kostitsyn seized the puck in the offensive zone, tried a shot that was canceled out by a defenseman, then shot his rebound into the empty net since Lalime had compromised himself on the original shot. Five minutes later, Vanek scored his second of the game after a rare defensive mistake by Josh Gorges. This time around, the Canadiens didn't give up. After killing off another penalty by Sergei Kostitsyn, Steve Begin scored his third of the season after a pass from Lapierre. The play surprised everyone, from the Buffalo defensemen to the crowd because Lapierre rarely passes when on a rush. Five minutes later, Andrei Markov scored the winning goal on a 4-on-4 situation after a nice pass by Saku Koivu. The Sabres' defense were nowhere to be seen on that sequence as they simply watched the Canadiens buzz in their own zone instead of doing anything to stop them.
Sergei Kostitsyn put his team in trouble again early in the third by picking up his third penalty of the match. After the Habs killed off the Sabres' powerplay, Carbonneau decided to bench the young player for the rest of the game as a punishment. Later on, the Canadiens couldn't score on a 5-on-3 which could've given them a nice cushion to end the game. As it was, the last few minutes were very tense with the Sabres desperately looking for a goal. Fortunately, Alex Kovalev (who played relatively well this time around) did some great work on the forecheck to give the Habs a much needed victory.
Despite the win, several people are still skeptic about the Canadiens' performance, myself included. Tomorrow, they'll face the Atlanta Thrashers, a relatively weak team, and you can tell that everyone is cautiously optimistic about that one given the Canadiens' recent record against struggling team. If Alex Tanguay comes back on Tuesday, look for Sergei Kostitsyn to be sent to the pressbox after an undisciplined performance on Saturday.
My 3 Stars:
3. Andrei Markov
2. Thomas Vanek
1. Andrei Kostitsyn
Despite having a lot more jump to their game, it was the Canadiens who conceded the first goal halfway through the first period when Thomas Vanek scored his 17th of the season on the powerplay after Higgins' failed to clear the puck. It was the only goal of the first as Montreal failed to capitalize on two powerplay opportunities.
The Habs came back strong in the second period, equalizing the mark three minutes into play when Andrei Kostitsyn seized the puck in the offensive zone, tried a shot that was canceled out by a defenseman, then shot his rebound into the empty net since Lalime had compromised himself on the original shot. Five minutes later, Vanek scored his second of the game after a rare defensive mistake by Josh Gorges. This time around, the Canadiens didn't give up. After killing off another penalty by Sergei Kostitsyn, Steve Begin scored his third of the season after a pass from Lapierre. The play surprised everyone, from the Buffalo defensemen to the crowd because Lapierre rarely passes when on a rush. Five minutes later, Andrei Markov scored the winning goal on a 4-on-4 situation after a nice pass by Saku Koivu. The Sabres' defense were nowhere to be seen on that sequence as they simply watched the Canadiens buzz in their own zone instead of doing anything to stop them.
Sergei Kostitsyn put his team in trouble again early in the third by picking up his third penalty of the match. After the Habs killed off the Sabres' powerplay, Carbonneau decided to bench the young player for the rest of the game as a punishment. Later on, the Canadiens couldn't score on a 5-on-3 which could've given them a nice cushion to end the game. As it was, the last few minutes were very tense with the Sabres desperately looking for a goal. Fortunately, Alex Kovalev (who played relatively well this time around) did some great work on the forecheck to give the Habs a much needed victory.
Despite the win, several people are still skeptic about the Canadiens' performance, myself included. Tomorrow, they'll face the Atlanta Thrashers, a relatively weak team, and you can tell that everyone is cautiously optimistic about that one given the Canadiens' recent record against struggling team. If Alex Tanguay comes back on Tuesday, look for Sergei Kostitsyn to be sent to the pressbox after an undisciplined performance on Saturday.
My 3 Stars:
3. Andrei Markov
2. Thomas Vanek
1. Andrei Kostitsyn
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