HabsWorld.net --
The Canadiens-Bruins Rivalry may not be dead after all. It was a Physical game this afternoon as both teams traded big hits. In the end, Raycroft was the difference as Montreal just could not buy a goal.
The best chance for the Habs came in the first came with seconds left in the period. Michael Ryder walked in alone during a Canadiens power play but shot it off the right post. Ryder made Dan McGillis look like a fool on this play.
The Bruins had a 5 on 3 power play for over a minute and a half but some great work by Begin, Bulis and Theodore kept the Bruins off the scoresheet.
Begin is back in the lineup and it was certainly a welcome addition. He was hitting anything that moved, with huge hits on Thornton and Knuble among others.
Boston 1-0: In the second, it was the Bruins scoring early on to take the 1-0 lead. Nick Boynton started it all in his own zone and the Habs allowed him to bring the puck all the way into Canadiens territory. Boynton then passed it off to Glen Murray who wristed it past Theodore. You have to wonder where the defense was in a situation like this, the Bruins made it look way too easy.
The Canadiens had numerous chances throughout the second period but they could not solve Calder candidate Andrew Raycroft. The Habs outshot the Bruins 14-6 in the second frame and led the B’s 19-14 after two.
As the Third period progressed, the Habs continued to dominate much of the play but still could not buy a goal. The final shot count was 34-16 in favour of the Canadiens, including a count of 15-2 in the third period. Raycroft was on his game and he even had the help of the post on two occasions throughout the contest.
It was a disappointing loss, but the encouraging sign is that if the Habs play like this every night (or day), they will win 90% of the time. Almost everyone joined in on the shooting gallery as only Yanic Perreault and (surprisingly) Richard Zednik failed to register shots on net.
The best chance belonged to Perreault however. On a beautiful feed from Andrei Markov, Perreault missed a wide open net, hiting the post.
Next up for the Habs is tomrrow afternoon’s contest against the Chicago Blackhawks, who just ended their franchise record losing streak on the road with a win against Calgary.
