Jump to content

Blues @ Habs - Jan. 12th/04 - Stop or he'll Shoot!


jl.roberts

Recommended Posts

teamSide.jpg

In Goal Tonight...Chris Osgood vs. Mathieu Garon .

Time: 7:30 ET

Date: Jan. 12/04

TV: RDS, RSO East

Radio: CJAD 800, Post-game Team-990

Habs Photos

Player Stats

RDS.ca Lineup News

Preview

Probable Habs Lineup:

38 -- 11 -- 73

20 -- 71 -- 26

37 -- 90 -- 17

25 -- 94 -- 15

44 -- 05

51 -- 43

52 -- 08

Probable Scratches:

24 (knee), 79 (hip), 22 (shoulder), 46 (concussion), 35 (healthy).

Key Matchup:

0256.gifvs. 0681.gif

It's on Chris, oh it's on.

Player to Watch:

29476_2.jpg

<B>#73 Michael Ryder</B> - Don't let him shoot! Don't let the kid shoot!

28724_2.jpg

<B>#37 Nik Sundstrom</B> - Back and looking to return to form.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Montreal Canadiens - 5

St. Louis Blues - 2

*

<B>1st Period</B>

5:50 : P. Demitra (14) - K. Tkachuk , C. Pronger - PP

11:09 : M. Ribeiro (10) - P. Dagenais - EV

<B>2nd Period</B>

3:44 : R. Zednik (15) - M. Ribeiro - EV

6:46 : M. Ryder (12) - J. Bulis, S. Koivu - EV

9:47 : C. Rivet (3) - J. Ward, Y. Perreault - PP

<B>3rd Period</B>

8:52 : E. Nicklaus (7) - E. Boguniecki, C. Backman - EV

16:07 : J. Bulis (9) - S. Koivu - EV

*

Shots on Goal : MTL 28 - STL 18

Faceoffs Won : MTL 46% - STL 54 %

Powerplay : MTL 1/7 - STL 1/6

*

RDS 3 Stars :

1. Riberio

2. Koivu

3. Rivet

:clap:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For the Habs to come along and win by a 5-2 score against the Blues is a great story all by itself. For them to do that after having beaten the Pens 8-0 is something else. Julien has to be a pretty good coach to get his guys grounded after having hammered a much poorer opposition and get them ready for a team that, while they are struggling, are still infinitely better than the Pens. Now, it's a bonus that they have no number one goaltender and it's a bonus that their defence is decimated and they have a high-risk offence, but let's not take anything away from a really strong habs performance.

Personally, the best part of tonights game for me, at least, was the fact that it wasn't the power play that won, it was the goals at even strength. That our PP has been doing brilliantly lately is great, but when you can score that many goals at even strength, it means things are going right for you. Our two offensive lines were a force tonight and when you can have two strong lines rolling with one good defensive line, plus another to give everyone else a break here and there, you'll always give yourself a chance to win.

~~

Notes:

Garon: (I almost wrote Theo he's been there so much.) Well, he completely whiffed on that first goal, but other than that he played a strong game. I urge you all to take a good look at the improvements he's put in, because it's my belief he's going to be challenging Theo by next year. B+

Bouillon: Could be considered a marginal call, but it was still a vicious boarding. Might be a blessing in disguise since he didn't have to speak with the interviewers in the first intermission. :-) N/A

Rivet: Well, does anyone else out there see how he's turned the corner? He logged 25+ minutes and was a +4 and played strong defensively. He didn't give up any real bone-head plays and he played within his means. Kudos again to the coaching staff for helping him work through his problems. B+

Brisebois: Looking better tonight than his last few games, which is good to see. He only send one really badly errant puck out tonight, and instead played his game. And almost a goal! Sad to see that one ping off the crossbar. B

Komisarek: He's still either rushing his plays or hanging on just a little too long, but he's doing it less. In his fourteen minutes of work he was on the PP, the PK, and was there in some crucial situations before the Habs ran away with it. Julien really knows how to work his players in - see Ryder if you have any doubts - and I think he's slowly bringing Komi's confidence level up. C+

Quintal: A solid and quite game. Just what you love to see from the big guy. Nothing more to say, because there's nothing out of the ordinary. B

Souray: Terrible game. Didn't get a point. Sheesh. (Did I get anyone's blood pumping with that? LOL) While he may not have had any points, he was extremely good defensively and his massive minutes really helped the deprived habs defense. Someone in St.Lou didn't do their homework either since he was given carte blanche on the PP and allowed to wind up and fire. I'm a little shocked at that. A

Langdon: I'm sure he broke a sweat, though in his few shifts he wasn't that noticeable - not necessarily a bad thing. N/A

Perreault: I'm really surprised Julien came back with him after he took those four minutes of stupid penalties. I guess it shouldn't be that surprising since they have a game tomorrow, but I fully expect Pleks to get that fourth line after Yannick's display. D+

Kilger: Oh dear. Demoted to the fourth line after most of us thought he played fairly well in the last few games. I guess there's not much he can do to play himself back onto the team...and it showed tonight since he wasn't nearly as effective on the ice. C-

Sundstrom: Timing was a little off coming back from injury and he sure muffed that chance in close when he was alone, but all in all he played a pretty solid game. He was one of the two not responsible for the second Blues goal. B-

Ward: Dunno how he managed to get promoted to the third line, but there he was. He did a fine job defensively and even created some things offensively, which is good to see. I'm not sure he's the best choice for that line, but at least in this game he didn't look too out of place. Then again, for anyone out there who thinks he should be on the top two lines....three 2v1's and he blew all three - the first the worst when he *missed the net*. Oy. B

Juneau: Ultimately his man who scored the second goal. He was a step behind the whole way and that left Komi wondering what to do and who to cover. Then again, he's got a jump in his step that's looking much like the beginning of the year. Hopefully he'll know to take the time off when next his back is aching. B

Dagenais: Nice pass to Ribs on that goal, for sure. Tough for him to get into the rhythm of a game like that with so many penalties happening. He played barely ten minutes and I'm *assuming* it wasn't for bad play, since I didn't see him doing anything that he doesn't normally do. B-

Zednik: With each passing game I'm finding his confidence growing. He's starting to cut to the middle more and is making intelligent plays with the puck. I'm really pleased with the progression in recent games. B+

Ribeiro: No doubt, that was the kind of game we have to see from him. If he plays like that, we have an extremely good 1-2 punch up the middle. Might be a little small, but even Mike was playing bigger tonight. Anyone see him level his check at the blueline? That was sweet. The best though was the blocked shot. *applause* My only...*only* problem with Ribs tonight was his classless patting of himself on the back when he got first star. Everyone else who gets a star is humble and awknowledges the crowd. Ribs seems to be pointing to himself as if to prove that he can do it. We know you can, bud! TEAM first, not pats on the back! A

Bulis: Finally got himself a goal on a good shot. Took beating a weak Osgood to get it, but for his confidence in the scoring aspects, he'll take what he can get. While he isn't a bonified scorer, though, he certainly works well with his two linemates, doesn't he. B+

Ryder: Had a mild argument with my good friend about who was the better rookie, Trent Hunter or Ryder. He says Hunter hands down because on any given night the kid plays at the highest intensity and quite often he's the best the Isles have at this point. I say great, but Ryder does it all too, scores, passes, hits, wins almost all his battles along the boards, plays with great passion... With Bergeron and Pitkanen, this is going to be a fun battle to watch for the rest of the season. Tonight, the usual from Ryder. :-) A-

Koivu: Virtually every shift - and tonight even some of the ones on the PK - Sax was dangerous on the ice creating some kind of scoring opportunity. He should have had another three or four points, and I think specifically of Zed at the edge of the crease alone with Sax's pass hitting him in the tape. Arrrrggghhh. :-) A

~~

A little worry of mine that creeped up in the third occurred when we stopped playing for the win and started playing not to lose. For those two or three minutes, the Blues were by far the better team, had some quality chances including a goal, and really gave the impression of a team that was going to comeback and have a huge upset. Fortunately after the goal we woke up and started playing again, but this team has to be very careful about lapses like that, because one day it may just haunt us.

Quick flight to Atlanta and we play the Thrash tomorrow night. They're a struggling team, but one that has a lot of fire-power. However, if we continue our solid play, we'll give them a good game and as fans we should enjoy ourselves once more.

A Concerned Fan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...