Sabres @ Habs - Congrats to Quintal - Jan 6/04

[jl.roberts]

No Way Jose! Theo is On Fire

Game Preview Soon

<B>Time : </B> 7:30 EST, 4:30 PST

<B>Location : </B> Bell Centre : Montreal, Quebec

<B>TV : </B> RDS

<B>Radio : </B> CJAD, CKAC, Team 990 (postgame)

<B>Other:</b> Sabres are undefeated in three, while the Habs have a point in their last four.

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<B>RDS Line-Up News</B>

<b>Stat Comparison</B>

<b>NHL.com Score Sheets</b>

<B>Between the Pipes:</B>

<B>Jose Theodore</B> vs <B>Martin Biron </B>

<B>Probable CH Line-Up:</B>

Hot

Cold

38 Bulis – 11 Koivu – 73 Ryder

20 Zednik – 71 Ribeiro – 26 Dagenais

25 Kilger - 90 Juneau – 24 Dackell

15 Langdon - 94 Perreault - 17 Ward

44 Souray - 05 Quintal

08 Komisarek - 43 Brisebois

51 Bouillon - 52 Rivet

<B>Probable CH Scratches:</B>

<I>See Injury Report. 35 Plekanec is a likely scratch, assuming Perreault is the only returnee.</I>

<B>Habs Injury Report:</b>

<B>Steve Begin:</B>Out approximately 3 months with nerve damage in his shoulder. Underwent surgery.

<B>Andrei Markov:</B>Hip Injury. Day-to-day.

<B>Yanic Perreault:</B>Is now in game shape after recovering from ankle injury.

<B>Benoit Gratton:</B>Concussion.

<B>Niklas Sundstrom:</B>Abdominal Injury. Day-to-day.

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<B>Key Match-Up: </B>

vs.

Don't kid yourselves posters. We all know that Stephane Quintal and Rory Fitzpatrick will be the one's that really shine tonight.

Canadiens Stats:

Habs Scoring Leaders

Mike Ribeiro 30 7 21 28

Michael Ryder 30 9 17 26

Sheldon Souray 31 13 12 25

Saku Koivu 6 16 22

Richard Zednik 30 13 8 21

Habs Ice Time Leaders

Sheldon Souray :24:07

Stephane Quintal :21.18

Patrice Brisebois :21:05

Andrei Markov :20:13

Craig Rivet :19:37

Habs +/- Leaders

Patrice Brisebois +12

Nik Sundstrom +6

Andy Dackell +5

Michael Ryder +4

Mike Ribeiro +4

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Who to Watch For:

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[Quebecois]

2-0 Habs after 2. Tremendous opening period followed by a poor second frame. If we want to win this game we have to get back to first period form, because we got dominated in the second.

Dagenais and Koivu with the goals in the first, Habs hung on in the second to keep the 2 goal lead, but it wasn't pretty.

[huzer]

Flat out, the Habs stunk up the joint in the 2nd period. Every player was bad except Theo.

[jeppa]

2-1 now after Zhitnik scored

Please hold on, the win would be very nice since NYI and Tampa are losing tonight.

:ghg:

[DJ_Laszlo]

www.we'vefinallywonthreestraightgames.com :/)

[Quebecois]

Empty Netter by Ribs makes it a 3-1 final. Great First period, horrible second period and an average 3rd. This looked a lot like the Florida game, except tonight Theodore came up huge and held onto the lead almost single handedly.

Tampa and NYI lose, so that helps us out a lot.

[jeppa]

Originally posted by Quebecois

Empty Netter by Ribs makes it a 3-1 final. Great First period, horrible second period and an average 3rd. This looked a lot like the Florida game, except tonight Theodore came up huge and held onto the lead almost single handedly.

Tampa and NYI lose, so that helps us out a lot.

Exaclty, great hockey night for the Habs fans! :hlogo:

[sakiqc]

Originally posted by DJ_Laszlo

www.we'vefinallywonthreestraightgames.com :/)

hehe yeah ! Wooohoo ! Finally 3 straight W !!! Habs are online !!

[jeppa]

Awesome play by Theodore again.. I think it's safe to say he's back!

And Koivu too, he's on a 7-game point streak now! That's the play you want from your captain..

And Ryder with a point tonight again! :/)

Thumbs up for the play lately, we're finally winning the all the games we have too!

[Colin]

What started out being a walk against a team that didn't look like it wanted to play hockey turned into a nail-biting game that probably cost both coaches a few grey hairs. The Habs completely dominated that first, then sat back and had trouble maintaining the intensity for the rest of the game. Fortunately there were enough players that had it in them to pull out the win.

That first showed me things I'd not seen in the Habs in about 10 years, the most important of which was the first-time passing that was consistent and stunningly accurate. Sure the Sabres didn't show up for the first, however the fact that said passing was so accurate still indicates a huge improvement in the skill-level that the coaches and management really deserve a good pat on the back.

The second and third showed me that there's a problem still in the concentration levels of some of the atheletes that needs to be addressed.

~~

Notes:

Theo: If he's not playing at his current level, the Habs are in trouble. If he continues to play this way, the playoffs are ours to lose, quite honestly. A

Bouillon: Stunning first period. After that he was still very good, but made a few more errors that I'd like to see cut out of his game. Where he slid into Theo was not his fault, that was losing an edge. The goal, though, was ultimately him. When he attempted to hammer Afinogenov instead of angle him out, he cost the team the ability to contain the attack. B

Rivet: The goal was absolutely not his fault. He contained his man and didn't let him penetrate to the inside, instead forcing the pass. You can't ask any more than that. Rivet played a good game, made only a few errors, and best of all, took responsability and fixed those mistakes. Still, he needs to cut out those errors in the first place. B

Komisarek: A little more time tonight, and he deserved it completely. I thought he came out extremely strong and confident in the first and carried that through the game. Certainly, as any rookie, he made his errors, but playing on the wrong side doesn't seem to affect him as much as some others, and he's certainly putting in all the effort. B-

Brisebois: I think *think* mind you that Breezer has been given the green light by the staff to start trying to add in other elements to his game. He's been so solid defensively and consistent to boot that I can see Julien loosening the strings slightly to see what might unfold. Unfortunately that's led to a few more turnovers than I'd like to see. We'll see if he keeps up with it or if he's pushed back to the simple game. B-

Quintal: Game 1000 was a solid one. No glaring errors at the back and even a couple of scoring chances to go along with it. When you think about it, a thousand games at this level, particularly for a plugging #4-6 defender is an impressive achievment. Nice gesture by the Habs brass to give him a star at the end. B-

Souray: Only once did I see him really blow it and that was when he took his time, made room for himself, them completely failed to do anything and subsequently get attacked by someone. Again, though, he's really improving. A-

Langdon: That was a tough fight against a really tough opponent and Langdon held his own. I like his style, though it's not as flamboyant as a Chris Nilan. He's patient, uses that left chop well, and picks his spots intelligently. He was also really effective on the ice tonight as well. A-

Ward: Tough call here. He didn't draw attention to his play in any major way, but since he was moved up to the third line, I feel that's not such a bad thing in a defensive role. Some shifts he hit, some he didn't, but as usual the intensity is there. I notice now, though, that he's not over-pursuing nearly as much and *that* is a good improvement. B-

Kilger: WHO IS THAT MASKED MAN??? Is he trying to play himself back into the Montreal plans? He was fantastic tonight! Everything everyone wants him to be. I mean, he'll never be a first-line player, but if he can play at that level every night then the third line is a great place for him. Someone out there PLEASE, tell him to keep it up! B+

Juneau: Shame he got injured because he really is showing jump lately. Hopefully he's back soon as we need that experience out there. N/A

Dackell: Once again Mr. Consistency provides. Looking at his game and thinking back carefully, I don't think there's a player on the team that ties up a stick better than he does. And he's really smart with the puck in the neutral zone. B

Perreault: He was used all over the place tonight - at least when it came to faceoffs. I like the way Julien uses his assets the best he can, it's simply great coaching. Unfortunately, Perreault just wasn't all there tonight. You know, defensively he's horrible, but it's not because he's forgotten his man. It seems to me that he's always there, it's just that he's behind the guy and not *doing* anything about him. That's not defense, that's a front row seat. D

Zednik: For once I can't really talk about his defensive problems....because that line was never in the defensive zone!!! Zed was brilliant on the puck all night and created multiple chances. His strength alone kept the puck in on numerous occasions. B+

Dagenais: Defence-schmefence. Who needs it when you're never there. I know why that line was put out at the end (who else held their breath at that decision which was another of Julien's controversial, yet positive decisions that made him look like a genious), they were dominant all night. Still, Dags has to learn the four-letter word: p-a-s-s. His goal was right-place-right-time and the rest of the night he picked a spot in front of the net and waited, unmoving, for the puck to get to his sweet spot. B-

Ribeiro: Now *THAT* is the Ribs we have to see every night. He didn't hold on to the puck too long, made utterly brilliant plays consistently, and never had to worry about defence because he was never in his own zone. (Actually, the one time his line was on in the third when they were backed up, all three were dallying by the blueline instead of getting back - talk about wrecking an almost perfect night.) The third star went to Quintal - only because he played number 1000. Ribs was my third. A-

Ryder: After a three point night it's hard to come back and be all that and a bag of chips. The line didn't have half the chances tonight as they were generally matched against Buffalo's best, but Ryder performed well enough. Defensively it was his worst outing in a while as more than a few were held in at his point where he should have moved them out. B-

Bulis: Why oh why do the 'tenders have to save their best saves for him? Imagine the goals - and the confidence - if even just a few had gone in! B+

Koivu: Oh those Fins and their tempers. They make the Irish look meek by comparison. Tonight was more a focus on his defensive game: witness the immaculate work he did on the two-man short situation. While he was his usual self offensively, that line didn't have nearly as many chances while playing against a solid Buffalo attacking three. A-

~~

Classy play is routinely overlooked in the NHL. Take Komisarek for example. He took out his man - with authority - on one scoring chance for the Sabres. After the play had been blown dead you could clearly read his lips as he asked the guy if he was okay. Now, when you add that little element into everything we know about Komi, into the way he played tonight, and hit, and into the work ethic everyone knows he has, is it any wonder that as many as 23 teams or so have contacted the Habs regarding his availability since he was first drafted? (That was the number of requests from teams that Savard had before he stepped down.) And this kid is still just that! Imagine when he develops it all?

Tampa Bay and the Tortorella/LeCavelier affair comes to town on Thursday. They're a struggling club, but one that can still explode if given half the chance. Don't be surprised to see Garon in for this one, as I think he's about come due. Also, if Juneau is out, it'll be nice to see Pleks back in and getting some more quality ice time.

A Concerned Fan

[Habs77]

Thanks for the recap(s) here and on Habsworld.net... this is the first game I've missed in a while and to say the least your conbination on game recaps certainly give anybody who missed the game a very good idea of what we missed.

Very thorough... as always.

First off congrats to Quintal, I was at a bar at he time and there wasn't any sound but he sure seemed to appreciate the significance of his accomplishment fully... it's well deserved.

Once again despite having really slowed down in the last few years he still manages to be the player with the 2nd most minutes tonight behinf Souray. Not bad for the 35 year old with limited skills.

Nice to hear Kilger had been playing hard for the 2nd straight game now, but frankly we've all seen this before... I only hope this time he's gotten the message for real because this truly is his last chance IMO now that he's cleared waivers.

But I won't hold my breath, I still expect the usual letdown before long.

Also nice to hear Koivu excelled on the 5-on-3 PK... previous coaches didn't give him such defensive responsibilties, but if he continues to do the job it allow him to get get more minutes and tha's always a good thing.

Nice to hear Ribeiro finally played a game to your liking, I have to admit even a Ribeiro backer like myself was finding his play a little lacking for the last few games.

So refreshing to have Langdon, a real fighter, on the team. He doesn't overpower anyone, but rarely does he get beat... and never ever by knockout like our last few "enforcers".

About Perreault, don't slam him too hard... if a scout reads this site we'll never find any takers

All I can say is that he was returning from injury, and I usually try to give a guy some slack in that case.

I was at a pool bar then a nude dancers bar the rest of the night, let's just say I can still smell her all over me, so following the game was kinda hard... but every time I did look up they were showing a replay of a Biron save, or a Theo save. So it seemed like a pretty wide open game, although I was concentrating on something else that was wide open at the time.

Looks like Theo was Theo again, he's the key as always.

Three in a row, perfect. Let's not be content with that tought... I head Demers mention we face NJ four times in the 2nd half, and the rest of the sched is also though so we have to bank in the points while we can.

Go Habs.... Go naked girl... they're all winners in my book

[Edited on 7-1-04 by Habs77]