Toronthab

Oh my good Lord in heaven that was GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!! AKRACKER!! Oh I loved that goal!!! What a PLEX! HAHAHAHAH!

I'm such a slut. I like wins. Even when they're gifts from MAF. Price started with a lifetime reel stop on Crosby and played a terrific game. I doubt that the management was gambling much when they evaluated the prospects for this year. I really liked the way we came out in the first but really got slowed and tired by penalties as the game progressed. On the whole, it was a pretty good outing for a road game and I saw a lot more that I liked than what I didn't. How cool is that PK? What a gas! I wasn't able to watch closely enough to critique players too much , but I'm not feeling too bad about our prospects this year. Good game Habs!

HAHAHAHHA!

It was good to read all the positive comments with which I agree, when I took note of the player and effort. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have AK really take it personally all year and emerge? Glad to see Eller play well. Truth is, I generally liked what I saw tonight and think we are a better team than last year. Good for them!

OH baby Gionta nearly tied it. I like that finish!

It would be quite a different game with these guys for sure. Nice save by Price... good to see.

I'll be happier with 3-2, than 4-2. Not too bad a game considering what we are lacking out there. I sure like Plecs this year.

First really appealing argument I've ever heard! I want a win tomorrow! So there. Go Habs GO!

Ya Brian; nice start!

I must admit that i don't know. It didn't look like it was a full force assault intending to injure, but rather more like a solid reminder. But I don't know. I think the effect plays an often determining role in such events and my guess is he'll get a game..... maybe. I don't see more than that. If I were sitting in the NHL office , I'd probably give him a game to be on the side of the angels.

You're right. I used to be 5'6" and I had to be patient too.

oh ya, but they do LOVE their team. Indifference is the opposite of love, not hatred. What the hell. I forgive them. Price is not showing well, and they all know what we paid in trade to keep him. They don't all take the long view, which is perhaps why they buy tickets to tonight's game... to see what will happen tonight..! I kinda think that the somewhat spoiled kid, Price, will gel, perhaps as a requirement of his own ego...whatever that Freudian term could possibly mean... or for the respect of his organization and fellows. But as was suggested , lets dump Cammi who is clearly dragging them all down!!! On a more positive note, aren't we lucky to have Plecs firing around like a whirling dirvish? Whatever that is? He's been a marvel on ice, impressive as all get out, whatever 'all get out' means. Markov will be back sooner rather than later, PK is sparkling and life is good in Montreal, if nowhere else. Good Lord willin 'n the crik don't rise, we'll have some fun this year. Cheers y'all

Gee ...too bad I missed this one .... er...

Yeahhh! Hockey's back! I always want a win. I liked the way we started to play. Nasty start for Price. Just what he didn't need, but hell , why not be a little jittery in game -6 in Montreal after controversial moves. The management thinks he can get it done, and they probably have more channels of insight than I do. Go HABS GO!!

I think the only truly significant factor that tips the scales is the room. We are blessed with some excellent looking candidates from a fan perspective, but while we might pick what looks like a full leader to us, the players might have a different view while appreciating our candidates gifts nonetheless. So I hope it is a team decision ratified by the coach. GO HABS GO! (Just practicing....)

tick, tick, tick, tick....

It's so nice to read my thoughts so well expressed without all the effort of having to write them down. And I had not made the sales schtick to the US market connection. Good point. Implicit in your comment is the sound point that shoot-outs are an insult to the game, as they are in any team sport. Ties have dignity. And a tie disappoints the way an unsuccessful phone call to a recently met love interest adds romantic tension. That ain't all bad as in , "This ain't over yet." Many a fine piece of music pauses just before the end making us wait that little bit of extra time that catches our attention before delivering that final resolution. I also find them exciting, and exciting is good, but so is the girl at the party who ain't your wife. Excitement indulged ain't necessarily a good thing and as Red points out, doesn't lead to an improved hockey experience. Dump the shootouts. Bring back hockey. Americans can watch Dawg or some other freak show.

Amen.

HAHAAHAHAHA! You are such a treat. HAHAHAHA!! Have we ever had a post defining what a fan is , what a fan should be? We're pretty good at ripping management and players from within our information -rich seats of privelege (also rolls eyes) , but how good are we at ripping into ourselves when 'we' are part of the problem.

>>and I'd hope that the fans will not get all 'now or never!!' on his ass (but they will, unless their hatred of Price distracts them for a while).<< HAHAHAHA!! Soo true. And I really liked Walmsley's comment about hating players for what they are not. Poor Brisebois, a great Canadien; I liked the guy immensely. Great courage to put up with the boobirds. Gill was a 'monster' for us and won my skeptical respect a hundred times over. Guys I had no time for included Ribeiro and Ryder and Samsonov. Ryder was just incompetent, one of the worst hockey players I've seen on the team who set us back a lot. But my job is to be a good and dedicated supporter of the team and encourager of players and coaches, so we can all be the best we can be.

Interesting comparisons I have to agree with. I don't know what to expect, but I am fairly optimistic. Especially if the Price is right, and if he is committed to maturing as he seems to have been of late, then everyone looks good, Price included. Have we gone into too may years with Cammy, Gionta and Gomez and a solid Pleks? A PK? I'm making myself happier.

It's all he's entitled to. His wins in Hamilton don't count next year. He's matured? Fine. Prove it. I suspect he's a good goalie and may rise to the top. But he hasn't and isn't as far as we can tell. I support the management moves indidentally, but I'm glad we're not Theoduding ourselves.

Nice going CC. Kudos. I can see how Quebecers can view les Canadiens as 'nous' and understand the feeling that nous should look and sound like nous. This is a part of the bigger problem of professional sports and identity. I personally aged as a kid , as opposed to 'grew up' in Montreal and the Habs are a part of my identity as Montrealer, not as a 'sports fan. So, I understand the impulse. The club, to be the club must be sensitive to the clubmembers , the locals who give the club its raison d'etre and I hope and in fact am confident that they will continue to be as sensitive as reality permits to nous.

THat was pretty nasty. And nice. We should spend more time considering what totalitarian indifferent creeps we tend to be. !

Spoken like an excellent sports fan. The choice made was not made lightly. It was the best guess they could make for their own reasons. Halak was certainly and beyond question the goalie story of the entire playoff season making truly sensational saves at critical moments to keep our hopes alive. No question. A strategy like the one we pursued necessitated exceptional goaltending and we got it. That said, Mr Price has earned the respect of the team and the management for his devotion to duty and maturity this last season, and management has manifested their confidence in him. Me, I am a Habs fan and Carey Price is my goalie, our goalie, and his performing extremely well is actually something I find myself anticiipating for in the end its all about character at some level, and his is emerging. His record , at least to some degree indicates a likely strong competitive pride. Coupled with the character he is choosing, he's going to be OK. Go Habs GO!