Oct 09 1 Down, 81 To Go! Canadiens Get Buffalo'd in 2-1 Shootout Loss

The 2008-09 edition of the "My NHL"  began tonight for the Montreal Canadiens and it proved to be an entertaining spectacle from the opening period right up to the dying seconds of the overtime period and of course the inevitable shoot-out.

For both Montreal and Buffalo, it was quite evident in the early goings that this was the first game as passes weren't as accurate and lines were trying to gel, but the synchronism was just not quite there yet, however this did not  impede Habs fans of seeing a glimpse of what can be, once the boys get a few games under their belt.

It took Robert Lang only 2:58 to convince any nay-sayers that he was a good off season acquisition for the Canadiens when he scored their only goal of regulation time. Lang showed that he was no stranger to the NHL and his vision of the whole ice surface not only allowed him to be in good position to score his first goal as a Hab, but also allowed him to make some potential scoring chances out of a seemingly dead play.

Unfortunately for the Canadiens, Thomas Vanek responded for the Sabres at 7:40 and the game would remain deadlocked until the shoot-out. However this was not without a momentum building 3rd period as well as an overtime where Ryan Miller had to be sharp in order to keep the Sabres alive.

Both teams went 0-for while on the power-play, ergo both teams killed the power-play well, with the Habs having to kill back-to-back minors while Steve Bégin took a tripping and a slashing penalty during the same shift.

Carey Price was as sharp as could be expected and always seemed to be well positioned and square to the puck and was called upon to face 36 shots while Miller was solid as well, facing 28. Price and Miller were named 1st and second stars of the night, respectively.

The Shootout went like this:

Ales Kotalik, skates in, head-fakes Price, moves to his backhand and beats Price, blocker side

Robert Lang- skated in on Ryan Miller who waited him out and basically let Lang run out of room. No shot

Drew Stafford : performed  a carbon copy play of Kotalik's move on Price. Same result.

Saku Koivu : Koivu, having to score to keep the Habs' chances alive, must have been thinking this the whole time while on his way towards Miller as he seemed to deke himself out and didn't get a shot on net.

If you are a "glass is half full" type of person, the Habs leave Buffalo with a point and you want to play for .500 on the road, so, thus far, mission accomplished. The future is bright and one can't help but think what this team will look like once they are firing on all pistons.

We'll get another look as early as tomorrow night when the Habs head to the Hoackey mecca of the Universe (really, ask anyone who lives there) Toronto for a Saturday night match-up against the Leafs who already beat the Detroit Redwings this season.

Tags: Buffalo Sabres \ Carey price \ habs \ hockey \ Montreal Canadiens \ NHL \ October 10 2008 \ Robert Lang