Ann 2Game 63 Review: Halak, Canadiens Hold Off Sharks To Win 3-2 (Video Included)
March 8th 2009 05:54
Halak making a save
Indeed, the Montreal Canadiens scored three unanswered goals in the first period alone to gain a slightly comfortable lead on their opponent. In a period where the home team took no penalties, Montreal opened the score with a powerplay goal by Andrei Markov just 40 seconds after Christian Ehrhoff was sent to the box for hooking. Two minutes later, Josh Gorges made it 2-0 against his former team by smartly following the play and finishing Matt D'Agostini's work behind the net. Finally, Saku Koivu scored Montreal's third and final goal after receiving Markov's trademark cross-ice pass. Despite the lead, there was no way the Habs could let their guard down against a team that peppered Halak with 14 shots in the first period.
However, as is often the case this season, the Canadiens just turned into a shell from the opening faceoff of the second period to the end of the game. Gone was the Habs' aggressive forechecking. Instead, they were back to their passive-defensive mode where opposing players are simply escorted into the Canadiens' zone. The Sharks didn't waste time getting their first goal. Less than one minute into the period, Mike Komisarek was penalized for causing interference on the play. Joe Pavelski made it 3-1 one minute later on the ensuing powerplay. Just 50 seconds later, Joe Thornton made it 3-2, and suddenly the final outcome of the game looked grim for the Canadiens who had gone off to a great start only to slowly flame off. Thankfully, Halak hadn't given up. While the Habs could only test Brian Boucher 11 times in the final 40 minutes (with four shots in the second period and seven in the third), Halak was magnificent in stopping a combined 34 shots in the two final periods to end the night with 46 saves out of 48 shots.
Once again, there isn't a lot to say about the Habs' performance as a team. The first period alone was their best period in a long time. After that – nothing. Thankfully, Halak was there, but giving more than 40 shots to the opposition night-in night-out will probably wear out a defense that's already weak and thin, and burn out a netminder that has stolen four (well, the Philly game was crapshoot but he still did the job) consecutive games for his team. San Jose was BY FAR the best team on the ice last Saturday, but they lost. I guess that at the end of the day, it's the two points that matter, not how you win.
My 3 Stars:
3. Patrick Marleau
2. Andrei Markov
1. Jaroslav Halak
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