Bad Bounces Bury Habs: October 15th Player
Grades

Colorado 3, Montreal 2.  Colorado
capitalized on a couple of fluky goals and hung on to beat the Habs in their
home-opener, 3-2.  The Canadiens are now 2-4, and have lost 4 games in a
row.  Roman Hamrlik opened up the scoring in the first period on the PP on
a nice pass from Tomas Plekanec.  The Habs maintained that lead through to
the second period until Carey Price was beaten on two goals (Hejduk, Cumiskey)
that careened into the net off of his own players.  Plekanec tied the game
up in the third to give the hometown crowd hope, but Ryan O’Reilly scored the
game-winner with 6 minutes to go in the period.  Craig Anderson shone in
net for the Avalanche, making 29 saves, and was effective in limiting second
chances.  Price responded with 20 saves in a losing effort.

Playing With the Lead: For the first time since
the first game in Toronto, Montreal scored first, putting Colorado in the
unenviable position of playing catch-up.  Unfortunately, the Avs were up to
the challenge, but it was a welcome change to see.

It’s Alive!:  That is, the second line is
alive and providing ,*gasp*, secondary scoring.  The second line
finished with the trio of Plekanec, Andrei Kostitsyn and Max Pacioretty and
combined for 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) and 8 shots on goal.  They were a
force to be reckoned with and were clearly the best line for Montreal this
evening.

Today’s Specials:  Although the
PP only went 1 for 6, it was more dangerous tonight that it has been in a while. 
If not for Anderson, the Habs would have likely converted on a few more chances
with the man advantage.  It is reassuring to see, as its efficiency should
be augmented by the inevitable arrival of Marc Andre Bergeron (and eventually
Andrei Markov).  The PK went a perfect 4 for 4, and the units were
noticeably more aggressive in killing off the penalties.  The Habs were
good at keeping shots from the outside, and Price in turn smothered rebounds.

Break Out the WD-40:  It was painstakingly
obvious that Montreal hadn’t played since last Saturday, as they struggled to
shake off the rust early on in the game (although some Canadiens never did). 
It could have been a very different game had Montreal converted some of their
good chances in the first period, and there was no reason for them to come out
flat in their home-opener.

Mike Cammalleri’s Vice Grip:  Cammalleri is
going to reduce his sticks to sawdust pretty soon if he grips the stick any
tighter.  He’s snake bitten, and no one knows that better than he does. 
Although one sympathizes with his early temporary struggles, the Habs
need Cammalleri to start scoring if they’re going to be a winning squad.

The Game is How Many Minutes Long?!:  
Once again, the Habs were unable to put forth a full 60-minute effort, and were
vastly outplayed in the second period.  Jacques Martin has his work cut out
for him, as this is becoming a trend.  It goes without saying, but I’ll say
it anyway: A team must play the full 60 minutes if they’re to win consistently.