Cornwall ON – Montreal defeated Boston 3-1 Thursday night. It was a gritty win, and probably a very satisfying one for les boys. Fans can grumble all they want, but the core of the team is Scotty Gomez and captain Brian Gionta. When Bob Gainey made the move for Gomez and Gionta he knew why and he knew these guys would be together for awhile.
When I worked for the Habs I created a system that essentially broke the game down into over lapping templates. The problem for line 1A or 1B depending on which writer you’re talking to is simply that they are missing a winger. Teams know that Gomez is trying to set the pick for Gionta so the focus on that and not so much on the 3rd winger of the day.
One of the reasons for success for the Plekanec line is that there are 3 weapons and the more you focus on one the more options for all three, and all three can finish.
It was a high shooting game with the Habs coming out on top 41-35. Carey Price kicked out almost all the shots that came his way. Again, the Habs D is really starting to come together and is highly under rated. PK Subban picked up his first NHL season goal too!
SJ eeked out a 2-1 victory over the Islanders in the Shoot Out; LA 3-1 over Dallas; St. Louis lost 3-2 in the shoot out as well. Matt D’Agostini scored another one for the Blues; Vancouver Tripled the Sens in Ottawa 6-2 as Pascal LeClaire return to the net didn’t go quite so well as he’d like; Detroit also tripled Edmonton 6-2; Atlanta tamed the Wild 5-1; Jeff Carter’s Hat Trick led Philly to the demolition of the Hurricanes 8-1; Alex Semin helped Washington double Tampa 6-3. The Lighting also lost Vincent Lecavlier for about a month with a broken hand.
Marty Biron and the Rangers nipped the Sabres 3-2. The Habs also traded away D man Ryan O’Byrne to the Avalanche for an interesting young Quebec born forward, Michael Bournival, and it looks like an interesting trade for both teams. It frees up some cap space for Montreal and still gives them an asset and Mr. Bournival is lighting up the scorecards more often and seems to play a grittier game than most.
Colorado gets a young 6’5 defenceman who with more patience than Jacques Martin may blossom in Colorado.
