Game 39: Rangers claw back to win in OT

Happy New Year's All Hab's fans! I have only been a Habs fan since 86 but I am glad to be able to find this site to finally read fellow Habs views and often asking the same questions I do, be it negative or positive. Will probably be waiting a few more years till my half season of greys come up, until then lovin' HABS INSIDEOUT Looking Forward to Thursday. Will be there chanting. __________________________________________________________________________ "WE WANT VINCE! WE WANT VINCE!"

I've just been sitting here reflecting on the greatest hockey game that was ever played. Thirty-two years ago tonight Montreal and Central Red Army played to a 3-3 draw. (I was 26 years old and the Habs were just about to win four straight Stanley Cups with The Flower blossoming into his prime. I wore #10 as a badge on honour. I can't begin to tell you the pride I felt of having them as my beloved team. Excuse me, I digress) We outshot and dominated them by an amazing margin but Tretiak was unbelievable in goal. Alas, Ken Dryden didn't have his best game as he let in 3 goals on 13 shots. Mind you, when the Soviets took a shot it was always a scoring opportunity. I remember that Shutt and Cournoyer scored for the Habs but I can't remember the third scorer. Might have been Peter or Frank Mahovlich. The one aspect of the 'exhibition contest' that burns in my memory was the intensity level of the game - from start to finish. It was played at an incredible tempo for every second for a full sixty minutes. I know that some of you younger people think that I'm probably exaggerating a little, but trust me, it was like no game I have ever witnessed. I'm sure that older guys like Ian, Scotty, and Dave will back me up on this point. I don't know if it's out on DVD but every true Habs fan must view this historic event at least once. It was the most perfect hockey game in the history of our sport. The Original 24 Cups

I'm late to the show here but I did watch the game. ALL the boys did great on this road trip...ALL...they are making me proud. Last night they had the 2 points in the bag, but 2 errors cost them, 1st PLEK failed to cover his man after the faceoff which resulted in the tieing goal, and 2nd, HAMR made a flimsy pass trying to enter the ranger zone which was intercepted and you have shanahan on a break..Huet not to fault. and maybe Huet would have liked another chance with that first goal which was a harmless wrister from the point. other than those IT WAS A FANTASTIC TEAM EFFORT. KOVY's (the 'C' looked good) line was totally dominating the play as the game summary 'points' out...the other lines had a rotation going because of Locke having his equipment mugged on the subway, and they still played with chemistry, thats a good sign. LATRON was using his weight to crush the opponents who were unfamiliar with that kind of treatment (see Gomez's comments on the habs) and another notable that some specific persons here may have missed: RYDERS NUCLEAR MISSLE SHOT FROM OUTSIDE THE BLUELINE THAT SENT LUINDQUEST TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM AFTER THE GAME FOR A BULLET WOUND TO THE SHOULDER.... NOW THATS THE WEAPON THAT WE HAVE WITH RYDER..WHO ELSE HAS DONE THAT THIS YEAR?????????? thats right, NOBODY. thankyou. --------- 1. until the problem in my picture is solved...we will not be Champions. 2. Delenda Est Torontium.... 3. your not a Hab fan till you watch & UNDERSTAND "The Rocket"

Food for thought as we are about to enter 2008; As of today; Habs have the worst record in the league when we lead entering the third period.... 6 losses. We're currently 5th in the line in scoring with no top gunner. Faceoffs; we suck big time, period. Cannot understand that problem with Jarvis and Carbs experience. Drury won 100% of his faceoffs last night. Priority one for sure.

Ian asked us to sit back and watch our team develop. Smart Dog wanted to reserve his right to speak his mind. I prefer Smart Dog's attitude. The more constructive criticism the better, as long as the suggestions are based on facts. Progress can only be made from new ideas. Most of the readers of this site are very knowledgeable. We can judge every post ourself. It would be very boring if everyone just sits back and praises the team all the time.

Its great to see Kovalev with the C on his sweater. His superior play is a big part of Canadien’s success this year to date. I read somewhere that a Russian has never been a captain of an NHL team, while there are examples of Swedes, Finns, Czechs and of course Americans on different teams. This was used as a criticism of Russian players and their alleged lack of leadership on NHL teams. Kovalev is proving this theory wrong, even if he does not wear the C permanently. I wonder if he is the first Russian to wear the C on an NHL sweater, temporary or not. Can anyone think of another Russian to wear a C. Fantastic overall effort by the team in NYC. I’ll take the point as it was a solid effort. I didn’t see the game, but from comments here, I believe the effort was there for 60 minutes and in many ways we played a stronger game than we did against TB and the Panthers. I think the collapse in 3rd period last night is part of the same problem we saw with 40 shots against the Panthers. We are going into a defensive shell when we are ahead instead of playing the aggressive game that got us the lead. The strategy worked against the Panthers. It didn’t work against the Rangers. Is this a question of poor execution by the players, or bad strategy by the coach? The prevailing opinion on this board seems to fluxuate from game to game, according to the success of that particular strategy in the previous game. I suspect it is a little bit of both. It is apparent that the team has a problem holding a lead late in the game. They also have a problem fight back when they are behind after one or two periods. We seem to thrive as a team when we are aggressively forechecking and using our speed. I hope the team can overcome these difficulties soon. I think we are on the right track. Imafogdevil and linp re: Negativity I am one of the people who have complained of the negativity in certain posts. I am not in favour of banishing all negativity. But I encourage people to show a little balance in their posts and to cut players and management a little bit of slack instead of quick criticism as soon as something goes wrong. It also seems to me that some posters have an agenda, be it to have Carbo fired, to bench Ryder or have him traded, or to have Huet play over Price, or visa versa. We all have our favourites of course, but I think in these cases, one should consider the team. I cheer for Ryder to break the slump, even though he is the biggest disappointment on the team this year and I think his days are numbered with the club. I cheer for Huet, even though I hope Price soon becomes the best goalie in the league. And I cheer for Price, even though his numbers aren’t yet as good as Huet’s numbers. The bickering and complaining are really tiresome after awhile, especially when it comes from the same posters with the same agenda. Its not just criticism, its over-the-top negativity and scapegoating. Well, on that note, I will wish you all a happy new year. Thank you all for your informative posts. I enjoy the exchange of opinions (mostly) and look forward to the journey we share in the new year.

Best wishes to all Hab fans out there for a Peaceful, Happy and especially Healthy 2008. Special wishes to our General Mgr, Mr. Bob Gainey. As we all know 2007 has been nothing but a nightmare on the personal level. I often wondered how he could just hang in there and continue to do his job. Our Habs are finally looking like what most of us had hoped for. Youth (11 of our Habs are under 25) and a sense of belonging for many. The puzzle may not be complete but this team is definitely coming together fast. We'll be there for the big dance in April....!!! cheers

I hope one of the reporters that cover the team start asking questions about not having someone available even though Saku had been sick for days and O'Bey obviously was out. This is simply bush league and whoever is responsible should be fined. We must find out who the amateur was and was it another nickle hugging experiment.

A little bit of contraversy in that one. I was at La Cage Aux Sports so I wasn't the only one who noticed these. On that tying goal by Drury, there was contact between Avery and Huet, was there not? In any other game that would have been a penalty. To add to that, I watched a Phoenix game a while back where after video review, they disallowed the goal because there was a little bit of contact between Tomas Holmstrom and Tellqvist. The other thing that bothers me, is something that only seems to happen to the Habs. Was there not interference on Kovalev by one of the Ranger's defencemen in overtime when he would have had a clear break away? Interference, holding, something should have been called. And to top it all off, within the next minute, Shanahan get HIS break away and scores the winner. For the Habs there seems to be a formula... Missed Penalty = Goal Against. There was a similar situation last year where in overtime against Boston, I think it was Glen Murray who tripped Ryder in the Boston zone and on the rush going the other way, they score the winnner. We need consistent reffing.

i saw corey locke's name in the game report. what was that about?? didn't know he was called up. Habs played OK last night. didn't necessarily deserve the win, but a decent effort. it's unfortunate, but it's a way of life for a young team. we can never seem to close out the tight ones. huet, as good as he is sometimes, usually isn't a shut down goalie late in the game. it's just who he is. we can't sit back like we did in the third and take only 3 shots. anyway, a well-deserved rest until thursday i believe. but it's time to get things together on home ice. 6 wins through the first half?? yikes. got to be better if we want to be a playoff team.

Happy New Year to everyone, & to Dave Stubbs who does so much research & contributes so much to this site & to us. Thanks Dave, & please wish Pat & Kevin a Happy New Year. Unfortunately, I will not be able to access this site for a couple of days, & will have to read Dave's latest contribution on Howie Morenz later. I am sure it is very interesting. Happy New Year!

You can all take this for what it is worth and draw your own conclusions from it........ This constant pro-Ryder/anti-Ryder thing has become very tedious. In the beginning, it was clearly two sides to a question or situation involving a certain player, and it was both topical and interesting at the time. What it has devolved into, seems to be more of a personal argument between a couple of members of each of the two factions. I now find myself skipping over many posts by these individuals...whose posts in the past I found interesting and informative. I may be missing some good points on things other than Michael Ryder written by these posters, but I'll take that loss because it is just not worth sifting through their favorite arguments. We're into the second half of the season. Ryder is still here. Whether he is going anywhere else, who knows. But to both factions of this Ryder thing, do yourselves a favour.....GET OVER IT!

World Junior Update - Canada finished second in their pool and will play Finland on Wednesday. The Russians will play the Czechs. The Original 24 Cups

We have to stop playing defensive hockey with 1 or 2 goal lead. Do it when we're up 2 when there are maybe 10 min left in the game Or do it maybe with 1 goal lead with 5 min left(maybe). Frustrating to see these teams tie it uo late in the game late. We also have to win a few games coming from behind, i don't think we've won a game this year when we are down after 2 periods.

Sad to see lose a good game and faltering in the third period but we got 1 point. The kid, Corey Locke will get another chance to play for the team, too bad about the missing equipment being lost. I would like to see Ryder sit out with Dandeneault for the next game we play at home. Steve Begin will have a tough time cracking the lineup when he comes back! Slowly, we are showing results and we will be getting better as the season progresses. We are better off today than we were last year. Let's put Carey Price between the pipes and let our No. 1 goalie Huet have some rest. Way to go Boys! 8 out of 12 points! Especially playing on the road. Now let's snap the jinx and play better at home! Happy New Year to everyone! "We will win the Cup only with Carey Price in the nets"

I sure hope in the new year some of you people start to understand the team concept and what it takes to become a championship hockey club. Every day some of you are on someones back for not doing what you think they should or should not. I have been around hockey in diferent capacities for over 50 years, i sure don't know it all, but I do know what it takes to win championships. The first thing is stay the course when you have been there and your critics have never. Every winning club has balance, scoring for instence, that people are transfixed about. A winning club has many 15 goal scorers, and a couple of 25 goal scorers. Not 3, 30 goal scorers for example. If you check back in our history of cup winners and contenders you will see what i mean. Some great players on winning teams never scored more than 10 in a year, and on D some only got 1 or 2 in a year. But they played team hockey not individual stardom hockey. The development of this kind of chemistry takes years not months. I'm telling you that for the first time in decades we have a G.M. that has been there and will not waiver from the program. Two more years my friends and we will be at the top of this profession. Stop riding and talking trade of our players, they are very valuble assets even if you can't understand there roll on this club. So this new year why not sit back and enjoy the fantastic ride of development to the top. I have not enjoyed this franchise as much as i do now, in very many dismal years of poor management. It is not as much fun winning the cup, if you don,t understand how we got there. It won't be to long now, stay positive and watch each game for suttle improvments and you will be as excited for every game as i am ENJOY 2008 IAN

Below are just 2 of the negative comments made about Ryder's play last night. The first one was by TradeRyder & the second by Smart Dog. See where TradeRyder says Ryder was a waste of a sweater, & Smart Dog says he was the one wasted sweater. Fortunately, a lot of fans disagree with those two, & even Mike Boone today has some praise for Ryder's play last night, & any one who follows this sight knows that Mr. Boone has never been a supporter of Ryder. Far from it, right Mr. Boone. At least Mike Boone can be objective in his assessment, unlike TradeRyder & Smart Dog, who dislike the guy so much, it seems to bother them. First we have TradeRyder's quote: "Submitted by TradeRyder on Sun, 12/30/2007 - 22:41. As someone said below - tonight Ryder was a waste of a sweater. And not just tonight. And Nfld (I have actually been there) ROCKS!! So do Newfoundlanders! But anyone who says we're picking on Newfoundlanders because we're disappointed in Ryder's season and his play has rocks in his head. That's all there is to say about that." Next we have Smart Dog's quote: "Submitted by Smart Dog on Sun, 12/30/2007 - 22:05. Observations on NY: 1. Mixed reviews - we lost in a NY minute! Huet as much as he is a great goalie, is not good in overtime, not good on shoot-outs. He seems spooked. I repeat - still a fantastic goalie... but when we go to overtime, I'd bet on the loss. 2. Plekanic the Mekanic. What a player he's becoming. The guy makes his line run like a top. Our best player tonight, and to me, our brightest rising star. 3. Higgins, Kostitsyn, Kovalev - all stars tonight... our forward lines are starting to be able to control the play. And on D - hats off to Boulon who played like he was 7 feet tall. 4. Ryder...sigh... He must like the TV show Lost. That's how he looked. I know the final goal was largely Hamrlik's mistake - but that Ryder was in on the play and I think fumbled the puck just before is no surprise. Several times he was drifting around the neutral zone, not back-checking, just waiting for his break-away pass. I used to be neutral on Ryder - sometimes he gives it. Tonight he was the one wasted sweater. Sit him. Trade him. Get rid of him. All you newfs, go ahead give me your best shot." Now here we have Mr. Boone this morning praising Ryder's 2 way play last night. "About last night ... posted by Mike Boone at 9h00 EST on Dec 31 Wait'll next year! It used to be the eternal plaintive cry of long-suffering Brooklyn Dodgers fans. But in Montreal, we can say it with a bit more conviction. There won't be a Stanley Cup parade in 2008, but Canadiens are on the come. They're young, they're talented and they're going to get better. Exhibit A: Last night's game. Down a defenceman, lacking their captain, dressing only 17 skaters and facing a hot team and a well-rested goaltender, Canadiens took it to the Rangers for 54 minutes. Had Tomas Plekanec and Alex Kovalev – who were brilliant, along with linemate Andrei Kostitsyn – cashed a third-period 2-on-1, the Canadiens would have won in regulation. As it was, they got a very well-deserved point to complete an outstanding 3-0-2 road trip. There are many positives: • Michael Ryder didn't score but played his best two-way game of the season." My wish for the New Year is that those 2 posters try to be more objective, but unfortunately, I know this won't happen.

It was really apparent to me how the team misses the big body presence of o,byrne on the point.He would have made a big difference in our defensive zone coverage. We are playoff bound if the team continues with its hustle,Happy New Year.

Habs had a great game last night. There were a couple of mistakes and at least one soft goal, but all in all the guys played an excellent and very entertaining game. I am very optimistic about this team. What a beauty set-up and goal by the two Kostis and Pleks! Kovalev is great this year and I am happy that he was wearing the 'C' last night. He is a leader and is helping the young guys along. I am also pleased with the way Ryder is coming along... his line is dangerous and has to be a concern to opponents. Its hard to deal with 3 solid attack lines shift after shift, and a fourth line that can shut you down, bug you, hurt you and also put the puck in the net. Too bad for Locke, I hope he gets to play if Koivu isn't back for the next game. I also hope that Markov is not out for too long... that could be very bad news, but lets stay positive....Bouillon is back to his old reliable self, so thats very good news. In my humble opinion, Habs don't need a big trade to wake the team up. All of the components are there and they appear to be coming together nicely. Kudos to Carbo for his latest match-ups. At this point, time and patience is all that is needed. By the looks of it we won't have to wait too much longer. Hang in there Habs Fans....there is light at the end of the tunnel... and no, its not a freight train! Happy New Year to all of you

krob1000-- Great read, only problem is that by the time i read it all, its nearly next year!! Just having fun with you.

"Submitted by Smart Dog on Sun, 12/30/2007 - 23:13. If you believe that plus-minus has meaning - at least at the high end low ends (and I do) the concern about Ryder's play is that even with more goals he may not be a keeper. Remember Souray... we loved the goals, but chewed our nails off watching him defend. Ryder to me is the same. Thirty goals is alot, but being on the ice for more goals against than any other forward two years in a row is a concern. Especially with our depth, he's not just a distraction, he's of questionable value." Well, Smart Dog, even though Ryder has had 2 bad years in a row in the +/-, he was not the worst forward 2 years in a row. In 2005-06, he was tied with Dagenais at -5, & Ribeiro and Sundstrom were at -6. If you are such a "Smart Dog", you should be able to do a bit of research & stop using untrue figures to justify your agenda. In 2003-04, Brisebois was the best player at +17; Ribeiro & Dagenais +15; Jim Dowd +12; Quintal & Ryder +10. What happened to change Ribeiro & Ryder in such a short time? And where have all those players gone? I can't answer the former question, but I do know the answer to the latter. In 2006-07, Ryder was the worst forward at -25. However, don't forget +/- was a team problem & there was Koivu -21; Latendresse -20; and Kovalev -19. There were only 4 forwards with +'s: Perezhogin, Plekanec, Johnson & Kostitsyn. Two of those are now gone. You should give up on constantly criticizing Ryder because it will only be a matter of time before he is gone. It will probably be before the trade deadline. However, when you do criticize, be sure you don't mislead people with untruths. ________________________________________________________________ http://www.nhl.com/nhlstats/app?fetchKey=20042MONSASAll&page=Stats&servi...

What a road trip!!! This team seems to have found new life in new legs and we as fans are the beneficiaries of a faster more entertaining brand of hockey (until we lead in the third). Last night was a better effort as a whole than either of the Florida or Tampa games and despite the outcome I was as happy after that one as one could be given the outcome. Lets start with all of the positives. All 11 forwards played solid games. The trio of Pleks, Kovy and Kostitsyn was incredible. Easily the best single game performance by any line on the Habs this year. It would have been nice if they had buried one of those other chances in the third for an insurance marker but I cannot complain given their play. They moved the puck with ease and they never stopped skating. Kovalev looked 25 years old and really seems energized playing with those two (I have stated that breaking them up may strengthen us but after seeing HIggins and Ryder together I like things the way they are and bow to Carbo's supreme intelligence). Ryder, Higgins and Lapierre is a stroke of genius (I admit I thought it was dumb to keep Higgins and Ryder together at first...I was wrong). Ryder looks rejuvenated and Higgins seems to thrive on the responsibility of being the best player on a line. Lapierre is a perfect fit and his demotion this year really woke him up because from an effort perspective he has been unmatched since his call up. Those people out there saying Ryder looked lost last night really don't understand hockey (I mean that). He plaed great and aside from the Kovy line he was the best forward. He made several great rushes, nearly separated Lundqvist's shoulder with a clapper from the blueline, was agressive,actually won several one on one battles and was the BEST backchecker we had. He twice made incredible opportunity saving defensive plays and also stopped a couple others before a play really had developed. Chips, Kosty jr. and Chips were not spectacular nor were they noticeably outplayed at any point. Sergei once again demonstrated the benefits of having eyes in the back of his head with a slick drop pass to his brother before Andrei fed Pleks in perhaps the Habs prettiest goal of the season. Lats had his usual (and more frequent as of late) dominant moments along the boards and went hard to the net. They definitely missed Koivu offensively but Chips held his own from a defensive perspective. Dandy and Kosto did what they do....they hustled, hit and killed time while the other guys got rested. They kept it really simple and I think had a very strong forechecking game (in their limited ice time). The defence also played very well. Hamrlik made two mistakes on the night and got burned on both. Dave Reid did an interesting breakdown of the tying goal and showed how both Hamrlik and Pleks got beat to the net off that draw and that is why the goal was scored. Bouillon, Gorges and Komi all played well. Markov did not have one of his best games but was still solid and Streit did a great job easily transforming back into a defenseman (Carbio is looking smarter every game). Huet did not play poorly atall and in fact made some very big saves. The Shanahan shot was perfect and I would go as far to say that 1 out of 30 goalies might stop that shot (and that is overestimating I believe). Now for the negatives......faceoffs. We were not good on the draws and it led to our ultimate demise. I am not sure how this can be rectified as we are not going to trade a center. I guess these guys should take a summer hockey school with Yanic Perreault....they know they need to work on it and I believe they do....they just get beat. The other negative is the two non calls on Hamrlik and Streit on hits from behind that went uncalled. We got lucky (yes, I know the refs let a lot go) but those are penalties 9 out of ten times (maybe even a major on Streit's) and they could have been costly. I lied. One more negative.....to who ever is responsible for getting a call up and his equipment to the arena on time. I would figure with the amount of money that these guys are worth that they could get their equipment there. This was a kid who has been buried in the minors for years and this was his shot. Some idiot at an airport (or wherever it was) may have cost this kid his career. If Koivu returns (he probably will) he will probably not get his chance again with us as he is a ways down the depth chart and Grabs happens to be hurting. I hope he does and I was excited for him and I felt like it was my equipment that was lost. I really did feel that bad for the kid. Like I said before though....What a road trip!!

Hey Flower. Do you think we went into a defensive shell in the third because we started a man down for 2minutes, or because it was our third game in four nigths or we we're down a forward who plays a regular shift, kills penalties and is used on the power play. Despite being in the shell we had had our chances a couple of odd man rushes and a couple of hit posts. The guys played well, The game was entertaining and we are not going to win them all anyway.

Happy new year everyone. I dont get the criticism Kovalev is getting from some of you, just cause of a few mistakes. I know hes been tricky in past years but not this year. Without him we'd hardly be competitive. He's the only one on our team that can do some magic and put fear into the opponent when he has the puck. Ive said it, Ill say it again: Give him more ice and the green light to do as he wishes. He has a goaltender's mentality, he needs to feel that he's the go-to guy to be the best he can. He has to be treated the same way Demers used to treat Roy. Demers hardly ever criticized Roy.

Happy New Year to Mr. Stubbs and Mr. Mio for helping make HIO the best Habs site anywhere. All the best for you and your families for 2008! Gilbert

Happy New Year to all, I believe that we all need to make New Year's resolutions. Here are some for all of us who read and post to this site. 1. That we will support the Habs. That includes ALL the players who wear the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge! 2. That we will refrain from personal attacks on this site. That includes personal attacks on both Players and Posters. Name calling and inappropriate comments are included in this. Everyone has an opinion, but think before you post any comments that might be seen as offensive to a person or group of people. If you aren't sure if it is offensive or not, it probably is. 3. That we will cheer for any team who plays the Leafs, and to a lesser extent, the Bruins. And when they play each other, we'll just ignore it like it never happened. Go Habs! Each and every Hab, not just some, ALL!! Les Habs sont la!

Bouleau Noir, P Saint Pierre - I agree with you both. The team gets stronger and stronger. Some of these young players are fun to watch. The Mekanic has been my favorite all year and he and K1 have a great chemistry... you can count on them to get the puck through traffic to each other while Kovalev is doing a great job getting the puck through as well. More solid at the back too with the young defensemen coming around. The Flower has a point too. The team has shown they can score 5,6,7 goals a game. Instead of falling into a shell, they need to keep the pressure on other teams once they get them running. NY got ONE shot in the second period - WOW! For me the main question besides that is do we still have 3 scoring lines. With Koivu in we know we have two. Let's hope so. Gomez from NY said that the Habs were "one of the hardest teams" they'd had to play against. We have to be quite pleased about that - the team is starting to score more goals, win more games, and gel enough that other teams are not looking forward to us rolling into town. How long have we waited for that!! Ole! Ole! ____________________________________________________ Too late to trade Ryder now....shoulda listened!

A great hochey game and one of the best played by our team this year,.. they are signs that this team is growing into a better team as the season proceed while the collecting of 8 points of a possible 12 is a reassuring way to exit year 07. I like the fact that we are entering the new year standing 3th in the East in points,.. even thought its only 6 points above the Panthers sitting at 12th,.. but more important is that our 5-on-5 scoring as improved since the arrival of Sergei, Lapierre and O'Byrne and that our scoring average as moved up from 2.6 to 3.5 goals per game since then. The latest addition to our roster has given the team the extra scorind depth its lines needed in order to play a more offensivelly commited game than they had thus far,... the two beautifully executed tic-tac-to pieces that lead to the Kots and Pleks goals tonight are testament to the increased offensive know how of our team and I believe that we entering the new year offensivelly wealthier than we have been in quite a while.

I thought the Canadiens played a very solid game tonight, despite the absence of Saku Koivu. I hope he gets over his flu quickly and that it doesn't spread to any of the other players. The Plekanec line is really something to watch. Those three guys have tons of skill and they know how to read each other. Tomas Plekanec is like a hidden gem that other teams just haven't found out about yet. He is strong at both ends of the ice and his vision and creativity, combined with his hustle make him a very dangerous forward. He is by far one of my favorite Habs and his play this year has been outstanding. Andrei Kostitsyn has a tremendous shot, and his work ethic has steadily improved since the beginning of the season. I can definantly see him becoming a very good winger for the Canadiens for (hopefully) a very long time. While Andrei Markov continues to be (in my opinion) the best player on the team, Alex Kovalev has certainly made his presence felt this season. He's not making waves with Carbonneau, he's consistently producing goals and points, and he's been a good team player. His skills are so incredible that you know other guys on the team are looking for him to lead them, and this year he's done a fantastic job of it. I seriously doubt that Kovy would have been selected to wear the C last year in any games that Koivu missed. The fact that Carbonneau chose him to wear it tonight speaks to the steadying influence he's been this season.

I blame tonights loss on Guy Carbonneau! Going into a defensive shell after owning the game for long periods has to be about the dumbest thing a coach can do to his team. It turned the momentum around for the Rangers who really were out of it in my opinion. Carbo has to realise this is not the 80's or 90's anymore. Teams are coming back from 2, 3 or even more down in the third period in todays' NHL. Honestly it was an absolute travesty to watch that. I kept saying to myself, so when is New York going to score, its just a matter of time and sure enough blammo! 100% the fault of coaching what an awful way to lose after playing a strong game!