Habs @ Sabres | Game Thread

[Prime Minister Koivu]

Good points CC.

It is being reported (nothing official from TSN/RDS) that O'Byrne is not making the western road trip but Metropolit is. Given O'Byrne's big body and excellent play so far, it is a real blow.

That leaves us with only 5 defensemen so there must be a call up coming. I expect to see Chipchura play in the next game as well.

[JCPetit]

We stole another one. And what a great game for Price. He was always well positionned and gave very few rebounds. As for the defense, I was impressed. Everybody looked good, including Gill. In fact, Gorges was the least effective tonight.

Now, let's hope that Martin will find a way to spark the offense. It's been non existent so far, except for our three best players.

[JCPetit]

Talking about defense, is there anybody who misses Komisarek. With his big contract, he is already under pressure in Toronto. Just have a look at what has been written after the loss against the Habs and after yesterday's game. Beauchemin has not looked good too so far. You just have to visit a Leaf's board to see that the fans are already questionning Burke's picks. Of course, it's still early in the season, but IMO they won't be able to keep playing like they did Thursday night. It makes no sense to be that agressive. They simply don't have the team to do that.

[Colin]

1. Gionta will be captain. Reason? Aside from the work ethic and attitude, he's embracing les Canadiens. Witness his winning goal celebration where he saluted the Habs fans behind the net before everything else. Any Canadien fan who doesn't like this guy yet needs their head checked.

2. Have we started to answer the Price question yet?

3. Gionta, Cammi, and Gomez are fast. And I'm not talking about skating. I'm talking about pushing the puck around. We haven't seen that kind of puck movement in ages. Which is a shame, because both Koivu and Kovy could do it - they just weren't paired.

4. Les freres Kosty doivent partir.

5. Kudos to MaxPax, Laps and Lats who were strong on the puck all night. Benoit "I know it all" Brunet didn't like MaxPax, but really Benoit, that kind of eye is why you aren't involved in hockey other than to commentate. Twit.

6. I'm not a pessimist, I like to press buttons. It's about the only thing that brings me enjoyment on these politically charged hockey boards.

7. Finally, after all these years, we have the makings of a 'Lunch Box Crew." Koivu was one of the few in recent years, now all the 'stars' have that ability. Getting rid of Kosty will finally rid us of the last of the "I'm too talented to put in full effort every night" annoyances.

8. We should be 0-2.

[habs rule]

imho the sog are deceiving, what we need to look at are goal scoring chances. If you look at that you realize that not very many of those 34 shots were really almost goals they were from the perimeter they were weak heck 1 of them rolled up to price at about a snails pace. what this means is our defence is doing their job keeping guys away from the slot and not allowing any real threats to get through. it also means that the forwards are back checking. Last year we lose this game 5-1. We have a new system and it slowly but surely coming in. I am very encouraged by what I see. Price will be a vezina winner if this continues to improve. the offence always takes longer to solidify because it is more complex. But we are seeing great signs there as well with the three new guys showing what speed and hard work can accomplish. Remember good teams find a way to win and losers just lose. Last year we could not find a way to win to save our lives we got some lucky ones early but when the going got tough Les habs crawled into a dark hole and refused to come out. These guys are going to get better if we can stay out of the forking hospital and they are going to really piss some teams off this year. It is a great time to be a habs fan.

[Wamsley01]

2. Have we started to answer the Price question yet?

That question will never be answered. He is one 5 goal game away from being a sieve to 50% of habs fans.

[JoeLassister]

1. Gionta will be captain. Reason? Aside from the work ethic and attitude, he's embracing les Canadiens. Witness his winning goal celebration where he saluted the Habs fans behind the net before everything else. Any Canadien fan who doesn't like this guy yet needs their head checked.

2. Have we started to answer the Price question yet?

3. Gionta, Cammi, and Gomez are fast. And I'm not talking about skating. I'm talking about pushing the puck around. We haven't seen that kind of puck movement in ages. Which is a shame, because both Koivu and Kovy could do it - they just weren't paired.

4. Les freres Kosty doivent partir.

5. Kudos to MaxPax, Laps and Lats who were strong on the puck all night. Benoit "I know it all" Brunet didn't like MaxPax, but really Benoit, that kind of eye is why you aren't involved in hockey other than to commentate. Twit.

6. I'm not a pessimist, I like to press buttons. It's about the only thing that brings me enjoyment on these politically charged hockey boards.

7. Finally, after all these years, we have the makings of a 'Lunch Box Crew." Koivu was one of the few in recent years, now all the 'stars' have that ability. Getting rid of Kosty will finally rid us of the last of the "I'm too talented to put in full effort every night" annoyances.

8. We should be 0-2.

All of this for finally turning into some stuff...

[Zowpeb]

I am not going to give Martin 20 games to instill a "system".

Gomez and Gionta have a past chemistry. Every line has guys who are familiar with each other. They all had full training camps with each other. Chemistry is not a major question IMHO.

Martin came in and critcized players conditioning...yet one has to question whether the current spate of injuries are simply freak coincidences or is conditioning an issue?

I can buy into the team needing a few more games to really get the "system" nailed down...especially with some of the injuries. However, I simply cannot stand the fact that fans are giving this guy a 20 game leeway.

As much as Habs fans, and media, can be ridiculous in how they "get on" the team, players, coaches, etc...it DRIVES the organization to do better. The current spate of fan "love-ins" that I read are even more annoying then when people get on the back of players for the wrong reasons. The biggest downfall the Leafs have, IMHO, is that their fans constantly fall in love with 3rd line jobbers. There is nothing holding them to a higher standard.

This team has been lucky to get to W's. I think they'll be very needed for a late playoff push so they have my kudo's and thanks for getting it done against adversity. It's a good sign. Having said that...they need to get their shite together FAST.

[brobin]

That question will never be answered. He is one 5 goal game away from being a sieve to 50% of habs fans.

LOL... and one shutout from walking on water...

Price has looked very good, but he started last year well too. If he keeps playing like this, he will be fine, even if he has a bad game or three.

The issue is when he plays like crap for 10 to 20 games and Gainey refuses to let Halak carry the ball. I hope Price plays well enough all season that this isn't an issue, but if not, I hope we stop putting Price ahead of the team.

Gainey's actions have put Price in a tenuous position, not habs fans.

[KoZed]

Martin came in and critcized players conditioning...yet one has to question whether the current spate of injuries are simply freak coincidences or is conditioning an issue?

Markov got his ankle sliced and O'Byrne caught a slapshot on his foot. How is conditioning related to any of this?

[haber]

I dont know if this has been said, but I think Moen and Plexs could work. All Plexs has been doing is taking low percentage shots. So why not try and get him to feed a guy whos not afraid to crash the net (which he showed tonight)? Just a thought.

From what Ive seen, Price is making an effort to stay square to the shooter. That means, any tip ins or funny bounces are going in the net (thats not Price's fault). Its up to the defence (mainly Gill and Mara) to clear out the traffic in the slot, giving price the chance to gobble up the shots. Its quite obvious that if we have the same shots for vs. shots against ratio that we've had the past couple games we're going to lose against the Flames.

I also noticed that Laps was taking the puck down the side into the corner and then getting stuck/ checked. I think that happend 3-4 times last night, Im not sure. He needs to ring it around to boards before he gets into the corner, cut into the middle, or time the break out so that he has support when entering the offensive zone.

Gionta get my vote for the C as well.

Edited October 4, 2009 by haber

[lazy26]

I thought the Habs put forth a better effort last night. They've yet to gel, but it's clear that they're working at it, and they're sticking up for one another. The D-zone play wasn't *as* bad as against Toronto, but without Price that game would have never seen overtime. That being said, the D did a good job of clearing away rebounds and Sabres from the crease.

I'm awfully concerned about Kostitsyn; you could tell he was over-thinking everything, and as a result, couldn't even do the little things right. I like that he's thinking "shoot" more so than last year, but he's got to look to pass occasionally. At this point, he's a one-trick pony with a broken leg.

Gomez still worries me, but as the system becomes more apparent, I think we'll see more efficiency and production from him. Still, it's frustrating to see him pushed off the puck so easily and turn over the puck even more easily.

Was our PP that bad, or was the Buffalo PK that effective? I noticed that the Habs had very little space to work with, thanks to an aggressive PK, and that seriously limited the Habs' chances. On the other hand, I thought our PK was pretty good (I missed the first 7 mins of the 1st).

Price was ridiculously good and now owns a .951 SV% on the season. I don't think we could have asked for a better start from Carey, and we're going to need him to perform like this if we're to remain competitive sans Markov.

If Pleks had some linemates, he would have had 3 or 4 points. I'm loving how he's bounced back so far.

Max Pax played a good 3rd, but I also think he could benefit from some quality minutes in the AHL. The question is: Who would replace him? I don't think Dags would be any better, and our best candidate is sulking in the corner. We're in dire need of 2nd line wingers.

At this point, who doesn't have a wee bit of a crush on Gionta and Moen? I say just give Gio the C already.

That being said, I think we're more lucky than good to be 2-0-0 on the season, but I think we're seeing improvement period-by-period. I like the direction we're going, and can't wait to see how good this team is when it truly comes together... assuming we don't lose any more players to injuries.

[JCPetit]

Markov got his ankle sliced and O'Byrne caught a slapshot on his foot. How is conditioning related to any of this?

Those are freak accidents. Nothing to do with conditionning. Having said that, I can't believe our bad luck.

Well, you can bet that one of the youngster (probably Carle) will be recalled today and that Marc-André Bergeron will join the line-up as soon as he will have signed his contract.

[Neech]

Plex seems like the type of player who could thrive in this sort of system, he's smart and hard-working, and has quickness and passing skills. Let's hope we get more strong play out of him!

[saskhab]

What we also have to consider about the shot totals is that we did just play consecutive home openers for the opponents. Especially for the Leafs, they were fired up and ready to go.

However, having 5 PP's and STILL only 15 shots through regulation is terrible.

[JoeLassister]

Markov got his ankle sliced and O'Byrne caught a slapshot on his foot. How is conditioning related to any of this?

Exact. Especially when we're talking about the 2 dmen that seemed to be in the best condition so far...

[Chris]

Well that wasn't a great game by any means but they stole another 2 points. Thank goodness Price was on his game. I am going to mantion a few things i have noticed at the start of the season compared to prior habs teams.

Good news:

Much tougher, they actually stand up for each other

The new additions have been excellent, including Gil (yes he is slow and should be a bottom pairing guy but do to injuries he had to step up and has done well)

Clearing the front of the net has been excellent

They all seem to get along

Over some time i think Martin will get them looking much better

play hard most of the games

Not Sure:

What has happened to Pleks, Lats, AK46, D'Agi they are virtually invisible out there

Gomez needs to be harder on the puck, too many soft turnovers

People are on Pacioretty, don't know why, he is not ready to be a top line guy, he is 20, he should be playing on the third or 4th line, learning the dzone, playing physical. He has offensive game, it will take some time.

Bad;

Like last year they are being dominated in shots on goal, some say it's misleaing but i don't agree, they were pretty much dominated both games.

Turnovers, soft passes and unable to clear the zone

They have no second offensive, It's cammi, Gomez, Gionta and Moen, Lats needs to take some lessons from Moen, GO TO THE net.

Pk has looked brutal.

I think BG needs to consider a few more moves, moving the Kosty's for a second line winger between 3-4 mill is needed to split up the top line, Move pleks for D help if Weber isn't cutting it.

I like the combo's on the 3rd and 4th lines, they just need a second line.

[Habsfan]

I'd be lying if I said it was a great game by the Habs. This was a great game by Carey Price. The kid is doing everything he can to keep his team in the game. He's looking very sharp and his rebound control is good.

A few of you have already mentionned it, but we can't expect these new players to gel with each other after only 2 games. It's gonna take some time for everyone to get to know each other. I'm just happy that after 2 games plyed the Habs have 4 points.

If we can come back from the road trip with a 3 and 2 record, I'll be more than happy...so all the Habs have to do is pick up one win in western Canada and everything will be fine!

[NYHabsFan]

2 games, 3 down

[kenadian]

2 games, 4 points

[The Iron Lung]

In a few months, all we'll remember is the 4 points.

Half this team is new... it'll take time to gel... plus we were in opposing buildings for home openers.

Just wait for the reception this new team receives at home.

I think we'll be rewarded with better games with each passing game.

[rafikz]

+1

Hey, we're on top of the division