Leafs in 1st Place in Late January! Puck Drops for NHL – Ottawa Wins – SCORES – January 20, 2013

CFN – It was a long ugly night for Habs fans for the season opener which they lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 with an assist for some horrible officiating.

Bottom line is the team didn’t bring it.   Montreal was out shot 26-22 in their own barn with all their old guys holding up a little torch to open the festivities.  (I know, it was kinda lame and focused at the end on current Captain Brian Gionta who I have a hunch won’t finish the season with the squad)

What is with Tomas Kaberle wearing Steve Shutt’s number 22 and why isn’t that number retired yet?

Alex Galchenyuk is wearing number 27 and he chipped in 2 shots in 13 minutes of play.   Bottom line is this team needs over 30 shots on net per night.  End of.   Colby Armstrong looked good last night and I have to admit it was nice to see Mr. Markov back although he logged too many minutes.     Either PK signs his contract before game 2 though or the Habs should move him if there’s something good on the table.   If Montreal misses the play offs by 1 point game one is where to look because Mr. Subban would have been a factor in this mess.

Sens Vet Chris Neil

Ottawa came out the way you’d want a team to with Erik Karlsson on fire notching 3 points on 6 shots and setting the tempo for the Sens 4-1 victory over Winnipeg.   My fave Chris Neil picked up a goal.   Rookie Jakob Silfverberg had 3 shots and won two face offs.  Dim light was Guillaume Latendresse who was an unhot mess in the victory.

In other games it was Pittsburgh 3-1 over the Prongerless Flyers; Chicago crowned the Kings 5-2; Boston mugged the Rangers 3-1; Marty Brodeur added another victory as The Devils roasted the Islanders 2-1; Tampa Bay doubled Washington 6-3 (Yes Virginia, Washington needs to trade Mr. Ovechkin); Florida stomped Kirk Muller’s Hurricanes 5-1 with Alex Kovalev returning to the NHL at 39 and notching 3 points!

Jaroslav Halak and the St. Louis Blues shut out Detroit 6-0; Columbus 3 Nashville 2;  Old man Jaromir Jagr 2 goals and 2 assists led Dallas to a 4-3 win over Phoenix; Minnesota doubled Colorado 4-2 and Anaheim showed why it might not be a good thing to rush to trade Roberto Luongo as they pummeled the Canucks 7-3.

So hockey fans what did you think about opening night?  You can post your comments below.