Oct 15 Habs Win Home Opener With 4-3 Shootout Win Over Bruins

The Ring of Honor was unveiled last night prior to the Montreal Canadiens' centennial season's home opener and the legends, both passed and living surrounded the Bell Centre ice. The "ghosts" of the Forum were apparently back with the Habs, at least for the 1st period, but must have left for a hot-dog and a beer for the next two, leaving the on-ice Habs to squander a 3 goal lead, sending the game to overtime and the shootout. Montreal would come out on top with Alex Tanguay's lone goal in the shoot-out making the difference, but while the Habs found another way to take the two points, they learned a lesson that no lead is sacred and you can never stop skating or you can easily string together a losing streak.

The pre-game atmosphere was electric, to say the least. The restaurants surrounding the Bell Centre were abuzz with speculation of the 25th Stanley Cup, the potential of the top 3 lines, who would Laraque's first victim be and so on.

The Canadiens, as usual, did not under deliver in the presentation portion of the night. Adorning the back upper walls encircling the Bell Centre were the photos of the 44 players and 10 builders who have been enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. To add zest to this presentation and much to the delight of the folks that paid 40 bucks to sit in these nose-bleed seats, a veritable who's who of Habs alum were present alongside their photo for the event. Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Steve Shutt, Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Dickie Moore and Bob Gainey were among the many legends that  were present to mark the moment and were all met with a roaring round of applause.

88 year old Emile Bouchard and 90-year-old Elmer Lach, the two oldest surviving Canadiens, were asked to drop the puck for the ceremonial face-off to start eh centennial season's 1st home game and it seemed to set the stage for what was to be a Habs blowout of the Boston Bruins.

The Canadiens took the 1st period by storm scoring 3 goals in just over 3 minutes towards the end of the period. Alex Kovalev, on a Thomas Plekanec shot, while in front of the net,scooped the puck from behind the goal on his backhand, brought it towards his forehand and wristed it past Tim Thomas. The first goal was a power-play marker. A minute and a half later, Saku Koivu would pounce on a Latendresse shot and put his first of the season past Thomas as well. The diligent work of Maxime Lapierre during a penalty kill, paid off in the way of a shorthanded goal when his line forced a giveaway in the Boston zone and Mathieu Dandenault fed Lapierre a pass from behind the net allowing Lapierre to backhand his first of the season past Thomas, much the the elation of the sold-out crowd.

The high flying Canadiens left the first period with a 3 goal lead, and that version of the team never came back to finish the game. for the ensuing 2 periods, the team that showed up did not skate nearly as fast or as hard as the one that started the game. At one point of the 2nd period the Canadiens led in the shots tally by an amount of 19-9, but as the period ensued, the Bruins would take over the lead in this category and eventually finished the game by out-shooting the Habs. It is no surprise, then, that the Bruins methodically were allowed to make a game of it.

David Krejci scored at the 7 minute mark on a top shelf shot that beat Carey Price cleanly, and Marc Savard scored 2 goals, in the third, including the tying goal with 47 seconds left in the game, into an empty net as Price was fooled chasing a bad bounce off the back boards. Some may call it luck, or a bad bounce, but I call it never letting up. While the Habs may have thought they were on their way to another easy win over the Boston Bruins, the Bruins continues to outplay the Canadiens for 2 periods and although they didn't win the game, did take a well earned point away from this game. A point that may come back to haunt the Canadiens down the stretch, as with the return of Patrice Bergeron, addition of Michael Ryder, great expectations of Milan Lucic and overall "new leaf" look of the Bruins, they will be a team to be reckoned with in the East.

Overtime would solve nothing and the only shooter to make a difference happened to be Alex Tanguay who wristed a laser, top shelf, to beat Tim Thomas. Michael Ryder, who put in a valiant effort on this evening, despite being booed every time he touched the puck, had the chance to keep his team alive, but was stopped short by Carey Price as the Habs went on to win the game.

While the fans at the Bell Centre cheered and chanted on their way out of the arena, I'm sure coach Carbonneau did not share the same sentiment. The Canadiens could have easily lost this game and perhaps without even earning a point in the process. He will, no doubt be reviewing this game with his players and reminding them of the importance of the proverbial "playing for 60 minutes", but I'm also sure the team is well aware that they were lucky to get this "W"

P.S. Answer to one of the pre-game questions: Laraque's first victim was Shawn Thornton, and although it was not a clear cut KO for Laraque, it did send a message that there was a new sheriff in Montreal.

pic from habsinsideout.com

Tags: Alex Kovalev \ Alex tanguay \ Boston Bruins \ Carey price \ habs \ hockey \ Maxime Lapierre \ Montreal Canadiens \ NHL \ October 15 2008 \ Saku Koivu