CFN – The good news tonight, and there was very little of it at the Bell Centre in Montreal; was that Lars Eller was alive and well, and scoring.
Lars was a scoring and shooting machine Tuesday night notching 6 shots on goal.
He notched his first short handed goal in the third period as well as 3 points on the night that saw the teams fire 75 shots on goal.
Toronto had some early struggles falling behind 2-1 before Carey Price let in a few softies.
The Habs Great Dane was flying teamed up with Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk. The trio was the only real bright spot as Montreal started well; but lost its life after a weak goal or two given up by Carey Price.
Jarred Tinordi had his first fight of the season which was a resounding success. George Parros held his own with Colton Orr; but was knocked out when his head hit the ice after they tumbled for the second time. George was trying to keep PK Subban from fighting and quickly face smacked the ice. Orr called for a stretcher right away as Parros was carried off the ice, but not before recovering consciousness and trying to get up on his own steam.
First Parros Orr Fight.
Max Pacioretty also hurt his wrist after colliding with Colton Orr in the first period.
It was a bumpy ride for the Habs and it’s clear that Carey Price’s play dictates the energy of the team. For a goalie pulling down over $6M per year he will have to hit the mark. While I’ve always been hard on Carey and have never felt that he would prosper in Montreal, his cap hit is such that he simply has to do better for this team to have any chance.
Speaking of cap hits; if Brian Gionta & David Desharnais are to earn theirs as well as the amount of ice time they’re given they will have to produce. Captain Gionta in particular will have to have his shots actually hit the net as he misses far too often.
It also might be time for Andrei Markov to give up smoking as he needs all the speed he can muster.
Chicago was leading Washington 3-2 as of press time with Winnipeg in Edmonton to take on the injury riddled Oilers.
What do you think of opening night Hockey fans? You can post your comments below.
I seem to have missed the final score of the Montreal-Toronto game in your whine-a-tribe that is so typical after a Montreal loss.
Toronto 4, Montreal 3
Toronto is unbeaten so far this season!!!!
Swiss cheese Price wha ha ha ha ha… 😉