On Saturday, captain Brian Gionta scored before the Habs’ fifth game of the season was two minutes old. He grabbed a loose puck at centre ice and deked
out Brian Elliott to put the Habs up 1-0. Milan Michalek scored the equalizer nine minutes later with a rebound from Daniel Alfredsson. The beginning of the second period was all Montreal as Ottawa did not get a shot on net until the 10:20 mark. Ottawa scored two goals in quick succession
though, when Erik Karlsson blasted one from the point midway through the second
for their first shot, and Michalek, his second of the game (and second shot of
the period), a minute later. The Bell Centre crowd did not have to wait long for the comeback, with two goals by Jeff Halpern and Andrei Kostitsyn to tie the game 3-3 before the third. Tomas Plekanec scored the winner when he cashed a rebound from Andrei Kostitsyn at 16:01 in the third period.
HW 3 Stars of the Night
First Star – Andrei Kostitsyn: With a goal and an assist in the game, Kostitsyn was involved, crashed the net on a few occasions and played with effort and skill.
Second Star – Tomas Plekanec: Plekanec used his speed to rush back to the Ottawa zone in time to score the rebound for the winner. Pleks is having a great season so far, going 21-9 on faceoffs for a 70% effectiveness in the circle. Plekanec was also credited with 4 hits.
Third Star – Brian Gionta: Scoring his first goal as captain, evading the Ottawa defenceman and deking Brian Elliot on the play. Gionta was also a presence in front of the net the entire game.
Honourable Mentions:
Mike Cammalleri: With 8 shots on goal tonight, he is bound to tear it up pretty soon. And when he does, the line of
Kostitsyn-Plekanec-Cammalleri will explode.
Carey Price: Not giving up after two successive Ottawa goals in the second, Price was steady, made some excellent saves throughout the game and thoroughly deserved his first victory on home ice since February of last year.
Notes: Scott Gomez, who apparently gave Jaarko Ruutu a black eye in a wrestling match during the game, has not done much since scoring that fluky goal on Fleury. He needs to pick up his game and go to net more.
Benoit Pouliot: While credited with 5 hits almost every game so far, Pouliot has failed to get any offence going. He needs to stand in front of the net and find a way to start scoring.