GDT: Montreal vs Buffalo, Nov. 5

[Habsfan84]

These failed pp's will come back to haunt us.

[Chips]

habs win! phew.. !

ok.. I can breath again. thanks Pouliot! sorry I didn't pick u in my pool. and I'm going to give halpern a serious thought. I may have to pick him up in my pool.

Go Habs Go!

lets rest and prep for those Sens...

GO HABS GO!

[Habsfan84]

well most of the team didnt show up tonight but one line did. Big win for the Habs to prevent going on a three game losing streak. Solid performance from Carey Price.

[brobin]

How does Halpern not get a star.. a goal and 2 assists..

[illWill]

How does Halpern not get a star.. a goal and 2 assists..

Not to mention he is now tied for the lead in team scoring. I guess that's okay as long as the wins keep coming....

[Habsy]

To me, goaltending is witchcraft, and played by nut-jobs. Who would actually want to stop shots at 100 mph? I'll leave the analysis to posters like Wamsley. But I'm so impressed by Carey so far. He's done exactly what he needed to do.

[BCHabnut]

The great thing is that I think Carey is doing exactly what he needs to do. He's winning games, making the save to keep the team in the game. Gauthier had a tough choice in dealing Halak. I am getting ribbed by everyone about how great Halak is. My response has not changed. I am still not convinced that Eller was the best return we could have got, but considering Halak was a few weeks away from free agency and arbitration. I understand the move. The bottom line is that in order to ice a competitive team with depth and a bit of breathing room, Halak had to be dealt. Many of us have said it. What would you rather have? Plek and Price, or Halak and whatever 4 million dollar centre you can trade for or pick up in free agency. Plekanec is the second best player on the team. Next to Markov. Last year, he WAS the best player. Only because Markov was hurt for so much of the season. The whole story is yet to play out. Who knows, in 2 years Eller could be magic. With the information Gauthier had at the time, the reasoning behind his decision was very sound.

[BlueKross]

A little perspective- According to a Buffalo commentator, not sure if it was Harry Neal or not, but whoever remarked that this was the best game Buffalo had played all year long. That occurred sometime in the middle of the game.

[brobin]

Price is not "winning games"... the team is. What Price is doing, and imo is what we needed from him, is be consistent, solid, and keeping "up" even after a goal. He is doing what solid goalies do.. gives their teams chances to win, rather then making it hard.

The team has also improved defensively. Last year we were constantly outshot and the goalies had to "steal the wins". This year, while we are outshot for a period here or there, overall, the goalie and defense system is working better together and keeping the chances down and letting Price do his thing (other then Hammer, who has forced Price to make several highlight reel saves to prevent Hammer from scoring in his own net!)

Yes our offense is down, but as a team strategy, it was critical to get Price off to a good start. They have done that and you can see Price look bigger and bigger every game. Price looks confident, and the team looks confidence in front of him. From that perspective, our defensive game is pretty solid. If they can get the PP going, then Price is going to have even more goal support and the wins will keep coming. It is clearly a work in progress on the offensive front (well, progress might be an optimistic word).

My only concern with goaltending right now is having price play too many games. I don't want him tired down the stretch. He is playing so well it is tempting to keep playing him, but the cup is won in the spring, not in the fall. I think 65 to 70 games should be the max for Price this year.

[BCHabnut]

How did PK Subaan's open ice hip check not make highlights? that was awesome